Crista
by o-o-o-VampirianWolfGirl-o-o-o
Summary: Leah stays in Forks, trying to re-build her life. Just as she grasps a level of normalcy, she imprints, causing her life to spiral out of control as her imprintee brings with them a whole new level of trouble. FEMMESLASH!
1. Lightless World

**My first Twilight fanfiction guys. My second fanfiction story in general. I love the Twilight series but I absolutely HATED the way Leah Clearwater was the only one who wasn't happy at the end of Breaking Dawn. Sure, we know that her future looks a little depressed and bleak, but she deserved a happy ending, so this is a continuation of the Twilight series, starting right where Breaking Dawn left off. I've had this idea since I finished reading the series for the first time in February '09 (this year lol). I haven't read a lot of Twilight fanfiction since then, so if someone else has written something similar to mine it's purely coincidence, as I HATE plagiarism! I hope you like this, this will be SLASH in future chapters, so be warned! Don't like don't read. Flames will be used to roast s'mores! **

**SUMMARY: _Leah's leaving Forks forever, until the unexpected happens, she's imprinted on the most unlikely person of all. Leah's life becomes a constant battle of survival as her imprintee brings with them a dark past. Can love overcome prejudice and differences?_**

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A shining sun and a cloudless sky. That was pretty rare in a town like Forks. It had been like that all week. The setting sun hit the windows of the small house, creating beautiful coloured rays of sunshine onto the bed.

Leah however wasn't paying attention to the light outside of her own room, nor at the light sneaking in through her curtain covered window. Leah's world was dark. And she knew it. No matter where she would go, her life at Forks and La Push would haunt her for the rest of her life. It would give her no peace of mind. This thought in itself, drove her mad.

Why was it so unfair? Why did everyone get to be happy but her? They all have some reason to stay, she didn't. Her mum was seeing the local chief of police, Charlie Swan. Bella was now a filthy leech, she got what she wanted, won her war and even produced a little vampire spawn, with her soul mate Edward Cullen. And the half breed spawn is the reason why Jacob has an extra bounce to his step whenever she sees him. Everyone had someone, everyone but her.

They didn't need her here anymore; the war was over, hardly even started. Pity, Leah would have loved to tear some vampire throats out. In ended instead as a happily ever after. Whatever. Leah didn't do happily ever afters, she didn't believe in them, because endings were not really all happy. Not everyone got what they wanted. Not everyone got their happily ever afters. They never mentioned those people in the story though.

Bending over to pick up her clothes that lay on the ground, Leah realised, she didn't really own a lot of clothing to begin with. Sure most of it got torn from transforming, but still, she wasn't the type of girl who cared about what she put on her back. As long as it was clean and suited her body, then she was happy. Those mall rat girls annoyed her anyway, so shallow, caring about outer appearance, when it was their inner selves that need the work.

Then there was Sam. Every time Leah thought about him, her heart would clench in her chest. As if someone was tugging at it. There are not many things that Leah regrets doing in her life (beside walking into the Cullen household, into enemy territory), but falling for Sam was her biggest regret. To give yourself completely over to someone then to have it thrown back in your face was so utterly painful and self-destroying. To never trust another again was not something that came easily in Leah's nature.

Before Sam imprinted on Emily, Leah wore her heart on her sleeve and trusted the people who her instinct told her were good and true. She laughed out loud for the whole world to hear it; she was outspoken, rarely shy and hardly reserved. Since Sam broke her heart, however, Leah was a totally different person. It showed how much she had loved Sam at the time. Her first love -you know what they say, you never get over your first love, they always hold a special place in your heart. In Leah's heart, her undying feelings for Sam was like barbed wire running against someone's skin. It hurt like hell, and the scaring was forever, it will never fade.

Leah didn't trust herself anymore. Her natural instincts, which had once been the only thing she could trust if she couldn't trust her head or her heart, were ignored now. Her animals senses that came from being a werewolf, were only trusted on the battle field, when it came to them protecting her against people or warning her, she didn't listen to them either. She could only trust not trusting anyone. It worked so far.

Going on her knees, to look under her bed, all Leah found was dust bunnies everywhere. She didn't own a lot of things, knick knacks as such, either. A few school books, some old stuffed animals, and just a few of the basic things that all girls had in their rooms. Such as a hair brush, makeup (which she never wore) and a small wooden object made to hold jewellery, however it was only holding one thing. A necklace from her father, which she hardly wore, as wearing it was too painful. It made her remember and she just wanted to forget. There was also a wooden canvas holder in the corner of her room. Under it was her lead and coloured pencils, and sketch book. Before Sam, Leah loved sketching anything and everything; she hadn't touched her sketch book since her breakup with him. It will be left behind.

Leah only needed the essentials, clothing and money. The rest will come when she finds work. As Leah was about to sit down and write her goodbye letter to her mum and brother (screw the others), her heightened senses picked up the distant sound of a howling wolf, calling for the rest of its pack. Great, what do those bloody leeches want now?

Leah opened her window, pulling aside the curtains, the sun was gone, the darkness of the night reflecting her mood, her world. Leah formed a crouch with her body, and thought about the inner animal spirit which inhabited her body. Her sub-conscious awoke, taking over her human conscious as the wolf over took her body. Feeling her body transform as she jumped out, through the window, Leah's instincts and animal senses told her that something important was about to happen, however Leah has long since trusted her instincts.

She threw back her head and howled at the moon, before she ran towards the howl of her leader. Being a werewolf, or shape shifter as was the preferred term, had its advantages, the animal took over and if you let it, it would consume you. Made you forget how to be human, which is what Leah wanted, she wanted to forget _everything. _

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**What do you think so far? Please review! Second chapter in development! I do plan on finishing this story as I have all chapters thought out; it's just a matter of writing them up. (I hate it when people abandon their stories, especially if they are brilliant!) Obrigada!**


	2. Amber and Douche Baggery

**Hey guys, here's the second chapter. Please review, hope you like it. If you have any criticism for me let me know. **

**Disclaimer: Also, forgot to mention previously, this isn't copyright, I'm just borrowing these characters, the only thing I own is the new character that will be written in. I do NOT own the Twilight series, Stephenie Meyer does. Otherwise, I'd be rolling in the Benjamin's! **

**Warning: This is slash (homosexual). Apparently people have to be warned of this sort of thing, funny old world isn't it? Flames will be used to make s'mores!**

_Edward Cullen's POV - _

_10 hours earlier at the Cullen residence. _

I sat down in front of the T.V, sighing, I slap a hand to my head, and pinch my nose. A habit that I have noticed impatient people do when they are dealing with incompetent children, a habit I have started to pick up. I look over at the children in question, and yes, there they are, standing there with a look that was obviously meant to be registered as puppy dog eyes, but instead looked quite pathetic. I had thought Rosalie got Emmett out of trying the puppy dog eyes on us. That didn't explain Jacob though. But then again it did, he _was_ a mutt after all, so the behaviour must come naturally.

'_Come on Ed, stop acting old and have some fun for once'. _Was the thought I heard from the dog.

"Jacob, you call me Ed again, I'll make sure that it will be physically impossible for you to see Nessie for a month, understand? And I am old. Therefore your referral doesn't quite have the effect you're after does it?" I said out loud.

Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, Emmett, Bella and Nessie turned to look at Jacob, while I heard Esme and Carlisle snickering in the kitchen, at my response.

Jacob had the decency to blush then he looked over at Nessie, who was being held by my gorgeous Bella.

"Don't worry Jakey, I won't let Dad do that_"_. Nessie said, sending a mock glare my way. I just smiled at her, amazing, how she was only a few months old and she could already form complete sentences. Even if it was because she was a half vampire, it will still never stop amazing me at how fast she is growing and developing.

"Thanks Ness. Anyway Edward, okay you may be old, technically, but you're not seasoned, so I don't see the problem with this." Jacob said, facing me again.

"Seasoned?" asked Bella.

"Yeah, you know, he's not worn out like human old people, is my point." Said Jacob.

"Who's idea was this anyway?" I asked, even though I knew the answer, I was already getting bored of this conversation

"Mine". Said Emmett, of course it was. No one else would think of something so dumb.

"Emmett I can't believe that I am saying this but you are a bit of a douche." I said.

"Edward, how do you even _know_ of that word? Isn't it out of your vocabulary?" asked Jacob.

I shrug my shoulders. "I heard it being said the other day when we went to buy Nessie her new clothes. A teenage boy wanted to court the girl, Irene her name was, who works at the children's attire store at Port Angeles. She said no, he sulked and walked out. And then she thought 'What a douche' as she watched him leave." I finished, looking around at the seven pairs of staring eyes watching me. "What? Did I use it wrong?" I asked.

"No". Emmett responded. "It's just that you saying douche, suits you just as much as the Queen of England using it in her everyday speech. It's so wrong! And yes, I am a bit of a douche, but that's not the point! The point is, is that we just got out of a life or death war, one which never even started if you think about it, I've got all this pent up energy and I need to do something to release it!"

"We will _always _have pent up energy, we're vampires." Muttered Jasper.

"Not the point Jasp, I was ready for a fight, we didn't get one, and psychologically it's driving me nuts!" exclaimed Emmett.

"You know there are _other _ways of releasing all that energy right?" Said Jacob, suggestively.

"Dog, DON'T even go there! That's none of your business!" Rosalie yelled, looking like she would rip off his head for even thinking it.

"Besides, it is going to rain tonight, with possible thunderstorms." Alice added in, mimicking a weather reporter.

"Exactly, an obstacle course, built by vampires, for vampires and in the mud! If that doesn't spell awesome then I don't know what does! Come on! I will have it ready by this afternoon, have a look at it, and then decide if it's a bad idea." Emmett practically begged.

"Well, what will it be testing out? I mean, nothing is that much of a physical challenge when you are a vampire." Asked Bella as she stood up and walked over to my side, placing her hand in mine. I gave it a gentle squeeze and looked to Emmett for his answer.

"It will test out how we compare and compete against each other, who jumps the highest, runs the fastest, etc, etc. It's harmless fun that I think we all need. Now, who's with me!" said Emmett as he jumped in the air and put his hand out in front of him.

"Oh man, I'm definitely in!" said Jacob, clapping his hand on Emmett's.

"Me too." Said Rosalie. Clapping her hand on Jacob's. Then all three turned towards the rest of us, waiting expectantly.

"The only reason you both want to do this is because, you Jacob, want to see if a werewolf is better against vampires and Rose, you want to see if you are better than all of us." I pointed out.

"Hey! I resent that!" Jacob said.

"I don't", smiled Rosalie.

"What a surprise," Jasper said sarcastically, with a smile on his face.

"Well, I'm willing to give it a try", added a younger voice.

"No Nessie!" Was the response from three of us.

"Why not?" she asked, looking at me, Bella and Jacob.

"Ness, honey, I don't want you to get hurt", Jacob responded, going on his knees to make himself at eye level with Renesmee. "If it is okay with your parents.." '_With you Edward' _he added in thought_, "_in a few months, when you are a bigger, you can try it then."

"Oh, please mum? Dad?" Nessie asked.

"You would have to be a lot bigger before I agree to that baby." Bella said, looking over at me to see if I was content with her response. I smiled at her, and nodded.

"I can live with that, because 'a lot bigger' is actually not too far away". Said Nessie, grinning.

"Okay, so are we going to do this or what?!" said Emmett._ 'Decide already because now I'm SERIOUSLY restless'_. He thought.

I frowned, he was getting very restless, I looked over at Jasper who seemed to confirm what I was thinking.

'_Yeah, I can feel it like waves, if we don't let him do this, he will drive us all mad for a very long time'._ Thought Jasper, as he looked at me.

"Fine, build it up so we can have a look..." I started, before I looked at Alice and read her mind. Great, Emmett builds it to look nice and he actually puts a lot of effort. "Never mind, let's do it, it doesn't look that bad at all".

"What did...huh...oh Alice! Did you have to show him? I wanted it to be a surprise!" he exclaimed.

Alice shrugged and smiled, "I can't really help it now, can I? Doesn't matter now, I am so going to beat you, with my gifted advantage!"

"Oh is that right? Bring it on, all of you!" Said Rosalie, looking excited.

"Hate to kill your buzz Blondie, but I'm going to beat you by a long shot!"

"Actually Jake, though you may beat Aunt Rose, it's Dad you will have to worry about, with the whole 'reading minds' things he does." Nessie stated. Smiling at Rosalie who gave her a glare.

"I completely disagree! You do not need powers to win something like this!" Emmett said.

And from there, I watched my family get into a heated debate on the benefits and disadvantages of having powers. What a nightmare. Bella must have known what I was thinking, as she put her arms around me and dipped me, like in the old fashioned movies I love so much. Huh, romantic and spontaneous, my Bella was surprising me today. Except it should be me that is tilting her, not the other way around. She then gave me a kiss on the lips. And pulled back a little.

"Don't worry, it will be fine, worse thing that could happen is if someone from Forks was to come here, in the middle of the night, while it's pouring with rain and thunder storming. That is if they find the road that comes here in the first place. "She said.

"So, very un-likely then, love?" I ask. "You will never get tired of being stronger than me will you?" I ask, as I take in the way I'm being held. She does an expression which, if she was human, meant that her cheeks would be blushing.

"I'm going to take advantage of it as much as possible while it lasts." She said smiling.

_10 hours later. _

Alice was right as usual. The rain began to pour down hard, starting off as a light drizzle but within the hour, it was raining like buckets, drenching us all. Not that it bothered us though.

Normally I would expect Emmett to have placed his 'obstacle course' at a stupid location. But he surprised us all, by making it on our baseball field. Safe because no one knew where it was. It was made of wood, nails and rope. So we had to be gentle with it, otherwise, with our strength, it would come crumbling down, no matter how tough Emmett made it. We still had to be careful. Emmett called us over to where, I presumed, was the starting line.

"Okay guys, here are the rules, as you can see, the track and obstacle course is set so that you start at one end of the baseball field, go to the other, and from there, you will see another track which leads you back to the other end again. However they are all different paths, they just sort of lie next to each other." Emmett explained.

"What confuses me is where you got all that wood from?" asked Bella.

Emmett smirked. "I've got my ways".

"I don't want to know." She answered back.

Jacob scoffed_. 'Great, it's all cramped up on one field, where is the fun in that?'_

"Why are you scoffing Jake? You have a problem with my building?" Emmett asked.

"No, just that you could have had it leading into the forest as well, then have the track come back into here, makes it more interesting." He replied.

"Well I _was _going to do that but some of us were worried about exposure"._ 'Edward'_ he thought added, accusingly.

"Well, I figured you wouldn't want to knock this down afterwards right? We should just keep it here, and make a new baseball field elsewhere. At least a baseball field does not look suspicious if someone was to stumble onto it. But, honestly Emmett, 3 storeys high? You are lucky we live so far out, otherwise this will be noticeable." I said, staring at some of the wooden obstacles that we were meant to jump over, or try and jump over.

Emmett shrugged. "Seemed like a good idea at the time, I guess you have a point though".

"It's what I was _trying_ to say to you this morning, but no one listened."

"It must suck that you have been living for God knows how long Edward, and you can't make people understand a point you're trying to make". Teased Jacob.

"Jake, zip it." Bella said. Mimicking a zip going across her mouth.

"My bad, Hells Bells. So are we going to start this thing or what?" Jacob asked excitedly.

"Alright, teams, I'm thinking, guys against girls, then the winners from each pair face off until we are left with the two final champions." asked Emmett.

Everyone seemed happy with that, and were each paired off, boy – girl. Rosalie with Jacob, Emmett with Alice and Jasper with Bella. Because there was uneven numbers, I chose to watch first and keep an eye out, just in case. I wasn't sure what it was, but I could feel that something was going to happen.

The pairs were meant to go one at a time, and see if they could beat each other. Rosalie and Jacob were the first to line up, Jacob had transformed, and when Emmett counted down to zero, they both ran off so fast that they would have looked like blurs to the human eye. There was sliding, climbing, crawling and jumping (which was the purpose of the 3 storey wall that Emmett built). The aim was to beat your partner and also score the best time of completing the course, out of the whole group.

Jacob lost against Rosalie, which didn't surprise any of us, however, it will surprise my little Ness when she finds out. He was good when it came to speed and crawling, however it was hard to climb a 3 storey wooden wall with paws. Especially if it was pouring with rain and there was mud everywhere.

When it came to Jasper and Bella's turn, my instincts started tingling again, I looked over at Alice to see if she could see if anything bad was going to happen, however she seemed content watching Jasper and Bella try and beat each other. Then it all happened so fast. As Bella and Jasper jumped over a rather large hurdle, a fast and dark shape collided into Bella during her jump, knocking her to the ground. Jasper landed, then turned around and ran back to Bella. At the same time, Rosalie, Emmett and Jacob were running towards Bella as well. I was there in a matter of seconds, even before Jasper had reached her. Bella was fighting off this creature that was completely covered in mud. However, when I looked closer it looked like the creature was trying to run away. Bella was trying to keep it from running off, not fighting it to protect herself, it wasn't attacking her at all.

Jasper and I pulled the creature from Bella and held it in the air, as the rain poured down onto it, the mud started falling off. I heard Alice gasp. It was another vampire. A female vampire. I would never have guessed this without looking as I couldn't hear any of her thoughts at all. The vampire roared something I have never heard a vampire roar before, it sounded like a lion, not an imitation, but an actual lion roar. She then pulled out of our grasp and jumped on Jasper and started attacking him.

'She is wild Edward, a newborn, we have to get rid of her'. Thought Rosalie.

'Anger and hate. Anger and hate. She won't reason with us'. Thought Jasper, as he was defending himself from the vampire that was on top of him.

She was obviously dangerous, as the others circled myself and Jasper while he was being fighting off the vampire, I ran at her and pulled her off of him, my fighting animal instincts taking over me. I managed to pin her down as the others stepped closer to help me kill her. I then saw a flash of something that confused me. I yelled at the others to stop, as they had each grabbed onto a limb.

I was looking into the vampires eyes, and noticed her eye colour. Her eyes weren't red; they were amber, just like a 'vegetarian' vampires', just like ours.

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**What do you think guys? I know I have a lot of dialogue but I'm a dialogue junkie! Lol Also I know my Edward is OOC, but I just simply don't GET him. I get most of the other characters but I don't get Edward (even though I love him don't get me wrong!). Review and let me know what you think! Obrigada! =] **


	3. The New Me

**Sup guys? Here is chapter 3. I know this chapter is a bit shorter than the previous one, but this is all I got for now. =] I am facing exams atm so I won't be able to update for about 2-3 weeks MAX!! Then I PROMISE I shall update ASAP after that! Hope you like this! Constructive criticism is adored as it helps me to learn from mistakes. **

**Disclaimer: This isn't copyright, I'm just borrowing these characters. I do NOT own the Twilight series, Stephenie Meyer does. Otherwise, I'd be rolling in the Benjamin's! **

**Warning: Remember this fic is future SLASH!! You have been warned as of now (for reasons I do not understand). Therefore flames will be used to make my coffee, because I really need one right now! =] **

_Edward's POV - _

That brief pause was a mistake. The vampire broke free of our arms and jumped, landing a good few metres away. She stared at us for a second or two then started running. We all moved at the same time, easily catching up to her. I still tried listening to her thoughts, but there weren't any. She was running on pure instinct, it's as if she didn't have a human conscious at all.

I then heard some of the thoughts of the others. They each had the same idea on how to stop her. Reading Alice's thoughts as she was seeing the future, the plan was going to work. Emmett and Jasper jumped, landing way ahead of the vampire, blocking her from her current direction. She changed course and turned left, towards the forest. Bella and Alice were already there, blocking her again. The vampire had only one direction now - right; which was where we wanted her.

'_Yes, now we got her!'_ Jacob thought as he growled at the vampire.

Maybe because she was currently being outnumbered by a group of vampires, or because she was desperate to get away, the vampire didn't see where she was heading and ran onto a net which Emmett had hid for the obstacle course. The net was a booby trap. As soon as she stepped onto it, it lifted up all around her and flung her in the air.

There was no way a net made of rope was going to hold a vampire. We didn't think twice, Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper and I jumped and landed on the net, holding the vampire inside. Jacob, Alice and Bella were ready underneath us, just in case the vampire got one up on us again.

She struggled, and when she couldn't break free another loud roar was released from her mouth.

"Listen to me, we are not going to hurt you, we need you to calm down". I said, trying to make her listen to me.

She roared again, obviously not paying attention, or not caring what I was saying.

"Look you can get pissed and roar all you want, we are not letting you go!" Emmett yelled. _'Pity vampires can't get knocked out'_. He thought.

That made me think of something.

"Alice and Bella, get Carlisle and Esme here, maybe they can try talking to her. Jacob alert the wolves. Just in case something goes wrong they should be attentive!" I yelled, over the noisy sound of pouring rain.

Alice and Bella ran. Jacob threw back his head and let out a loud, blood chilling howl, then ran off into the woods.

Whether it was Jacob's howling, or the fact that I mentioned wolves, had caused a reaction from the vampire. She screamed, and again, tried and struggled against our hold. We just tightened our grip onto her even more. That's when again I was surprised a second time by really looking at the vampire.

Because she was suspended in the air, away from the muddy ground and because the rain was pouring down; the mud began to wash off of her body. Revealing large, red, painful looking scratches. Scratches made by werewolves. This vampire had been attacked.

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_Leah's POV – _

As I was running though the forest, I caught up with Seth and Embry.

'_What's up sis? Finally left that room of yours?'_ Seth's voice asked, be projected into my own head.

'_Bite me'_. I responded.

'_Come on Leah, that's no way to talk to your brother.'_ Embry said. After the war, the rest of Sam's pack (including Sam much to my distaste) joined our pack, with Jacob as our leader, though Jacob wasn't happy about this for a while, still isn't.

'_He's my brother, I can speak to him anyway I want.'_ I snapped and ran faster up ahead.

Forget this. I don't need to start another fight where I look like the bitch. I'm over it. I just want to see what the fuss is and then leave. This will be my last encounter with the pack. I might as well try and make a good impression. Though I made sure not to think about this while I was a wolf, I didn't want anyone else knowing what I was up to. I didn't want any sympathy or any hate directed towards me just because I was leaving. I already got enough of that when Sam left me, I don't need it now.

I smelled the air, and I could identify Jacob's smell through all the different scents of rain, trees and mud. Listening behind me the boys were joined by the rest of the pack. Brilliant - including Sam. What a way to spend my last night at La Push. I kept running towards Jacob's scent, leaving the pack far behind me.

Jacob was in a clearing and was pacing. He looked _extremely_ edgy and restless. And he had transformed back into human form. He looked up when he saw me arrive, and asked me to transform back. I walked behind a tree, changed, then put on my clothes.

"What's going on Jacob?" I asked.

"Wait for the others. I don't want to repeat myself."

The rest of the pack arrived, and Jacob ordered Jared and Embry to remain in wolf form, while the others transformed.

"There, now can you get on with it? Some of us have elsewhere to be". I said impatiently.

"Okay, the Cullen's and I were out in the rain, near the baseball pitch when trouble bumped in to us."

"What kind of trouble". Asked Sam.

"Trouble in the form of another vampire." Jacob finished.

"So what's the plan? Do you need help killing it? Or..."

"No. It's just like the Cullen's, she doesn't eat people. I think they want to keep her around to make sure she is okay..."

"Then why bother us with this information?" I asked, getting impatient and agitated.

"Well, I have four reasons for that." Said an attractive voice from the shadows. Edward appeared behind Jacob, coming into view. Great now the leech is here. Add another one and we have ourselves a crappy night.

"Firstly, the vampire is wild. So she may not be a danger to others, but she is a danger to herself. We want to keep her with us long enough to calm her down. Secondly, Jasper is sensing some very angry and sad emotions from her. So we want to reason with her and see why she is so upset. Thirdly, I cannot read _any _of her thoughts..."

"Why? Is she like Bella? Does she have a shield?" Asked Seth, interrupting Edward.

"No. She is running on pure instinct. Which leads me to my fourth point: She is covered head to toe in scratches."

"So what?" Jacob and I ask at the same time.

"These scratches were made by werewolves. And they won't heal."

Oh. Fair enough. But if she is a vegetarian vampire why would werewolves attack her? Wait, why do I care?

"I was thinking the same thing Leah." Edward said. Addressing my first thought, ignoring the second. "If all werewolves are raised and taught by their elders the same way as all of you. Then she shouldn't have been attacked."

"She won't heal you say?" Paul asked.

"No. You've seen injured vampires in combat, they are meant to pull themselves together when hurt. This one doesn't seem to be healing. If I didn't know any better I'd say she was human." Edward said, frowning.

"So what I want all of you to do is to just stay on alert and keep an ear out for anything. We don't know where she is from or if trouble is following her, in the form of other vampires. Where is she now by the way?" Jacob added, turning to Edward.

"Carlisle and Esme arrived just after you left. They are helping the others take her back to our house. She is still putting up quite a struggle." Edward said.

Bidding us goodnight and thanking us for our cooperation. He, along with Jacob, disappeared into the shadows. Back in the direction of the Cullen house.

As I climbed back through my window I couldn't help but think about the state that Edward described the poor vampire to be in. Wait! Did I just feel sympathy for a_ leech_? I _need _to get out of here. I went to pick up my bag to leave, when it opened up, spilling the contents all over my floor. Great, I forgot to zip it up! Sighing, I kneeled down and started picking everything up, shoving it back inside. I _really_ need to get a new bag, this one was God knows, how many years old! I saw something shiny half sticking out from beneath my wardrobe. I crawled over to take a look and realised it was just a quarter. When I went to pick it up my hand knocked something. I frowned, feeling underneath the wardrobe, I got a grip on something hard and cold. I pulled it out, stood up and studied it under the moonlight. What I had found was a homemade picture frame covered in shells from La Push beach. Inside, was a photo of Dad and I; taken a few weeks before Sam imprinted on _Emily. _

I completely forgot I had this photo. Dad and I spent a whole day at the beach fishing. Dad's brother tagged along because he wanted to use his new camera that he got for Christmas to take photos of the beach. He took this one and it used to be one of favourite photos. That is, before Dad died. Studying the photo, I shed a tear as I looked at Dad. So healthy and happy. Happy to be alive, who knew that his heart could be so weak?

When I glanced at my image I gasped and dropped the frame. Kneeling down to pick it up, I looked at my image again. It was like staring into the face of someone completely different. I was smiling. The kind of smile you make when you are trying not to laugh. Probably my uncle saying something idiotic to get me and my dad to laugh for the photo. I was a different person then. I was... _younger_. From everything I have been through so far and everything I've seen, I feel a century old. I missed the old Leah, I missed being me. But the old Leah was trapped inside the shell of this cynical and bitter person that I have become. Touching my cheeks, I realised I was crying as I met warm tears with my finger tips. I didn't want to be like this forever, I didn't want Sam to be my psychological weakness, the key to my insanity. I wanted to be me again. I didn't know how. How do you undo everything? How do you erase memories or decrease their meaning so that they don't hurt as much, or affect you as much? How do I _heal?_

Then something clicked.

I knew one thing for sure, if I wanted to get over Sam, then leaving and running away from the problem wasn't the answer. Dad wouldn't have wanted me to leave, as if I was defeated somehow. It's a shame walk. And I have _nothing_ to be ashamed about. This is my home and no one drives me out, intentionally or unintentionally. I can't be the old Leah and I don't want to stay the way I am. But maybe I can be both Leahs, or use both to become a new one. It would take a _huge_ amount of effort on my part, but it was about time I moved on.

To hell with this; I'm _staying!_

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**What do you think? Please review!! Also, can you let me know if i need a beta?? Obrigada big time guys! =D**


	4. Broken

**Hi guys!! During my exam studying, this little chapter was bugging me to be written, so I couldn't resist writing this! Hope you like! And please review! Constructive criticism is adored as it helps me to learn from mistakes.**

**Disclaimer: This isn't copyright, I'm just borrowing these characters. I do NOT own the Twilight series, Stephenie Meyer does. Otherwise, I'd be rolling in the Benjamin's! (And I'd buy Jensen Ackles!) lol**

**Warning: Remember this fic is future SLASH!! You have been warned as of now (though I wish warning someone of slash was unnecessary, you'd think people would have the maturity by now to DEAL WITH IT!! I mean you don't see me complaining on other fics saying 'excuse me, you should have warned me that this story contained a heterosexual pairing'). Flames will be attacked!**

**(Notice I'm not having the happiest of days?) :D **

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_Bella's POV – _

I have never seen a vampire behave in such a way; unless they were a newborn of course. But I've only been part of this mystical world for nearly 4 years now. I still have a lot to learn.

Though I'm sure a life time as a vampire will still not help me understand Carlisle. He has this affect on people (and vampires). His presence alone seemed to calm the vampire down. One look at him and she stopped fighting against Edward, Jasper and Rosalie's hold. She still struggled, but not as violently as before he arrived.

Carlisle managed to make her listen to us. And now, here we are back at the Cullen house (or should I say, our house) with Carlisle and Esme holding onto the vampire's arms and gently guiding her through each room, while we all waited in the lounge. I couldn't believe she was letting them touch her! She looked like she would snap someone's head off if anyone laid a finger on her. Again, it must be a Carlisle and Esme thing.

I looked to Edward who was sitting next to me on the couch. I touched his cheek, and concentrated. Pulling the invisible shield that protected me, from my head onto Edward, I asked him via my thoughts, _'Edward, love?'_

He looked at me in surprise and then smiled. In the few moments he has heard my thoughts, each and every time he looks like he will always be happy, no matter what. His smile made me pause for a minute, distracting me.

Seeing Edward as clearly as I can is probably the most amazing part of being a vampire. Human senses didn't pick up everything that vampire senses could. Seeing Edward through the eyes of my old, human self, Bella Swan, it was like I missed certain details. Not that I couldn't see them if I really wanted to, but it's like they were too fast for me to notice or process. It's as if Edward (and all other vampires), live on a different time plane than humans; one that is faster. Now I, Bella _Cullen_, existed on that very same plane.

I smiled back at my beautiful husband.

'_Why are Carlisle and Esme giving the vampire a tour of the house?'_ I asked through thought form.

Edward kissed my nose then pulled my arm away from his face. He held onto it with both his hands, positioning my arm palm up. He slowly started tracing a pattern onto the skin of my forearm with his finger. If I was a human, I would never have noticed what Edward was doing. Being a vampire, on the other hand, I could see (and feel) that Edward was answering my question by tracing his answer onto my skin. I could feel and identify all the letters without a moment's pause.

'To gain her trust. We are showing her that we have nothing to hide.' Were the sentences that I formed in my head. I placed my hand back onto his cheek and concentrated one more time.

'_Thankyou'_.

He just smiled at me again and pulled me to rest against his side. I lay my head on his shoulder and looked around the room at everyone while we waited. My eyes fell onto Jacob, who was sitting on the floor in front of me, with Renesmee on his lap. Though I would never admit it out loud (or at least, not yet) I was happy that Jacob imprinted on Renesmee. After the way he looked after me when Edward left me (the distant memories still pulled at my heart, saddening me) my lovely daughter couldn't be in safer hand; other than with Edward and me of course.

We all shifted to attention, when we heard Carlisle and Esme descend from the stairs, with the vampire still in-between them.

"You have already seen our family, but I think we should formally introduce you to everyone". Said Carlisle, standing at the edge of the stairs with Esme and the vampire.

The vampire, I noticed, at first look very tensed. As if she didn't trust us. This made sense because she didn't even know us. But on second glance I could recognise other emotions in her eyes, hidden by her tough exterior. She was so sad, depressed, lonely and hurt. I could tell, because I remember a time when I was like that, again, when Edward left. I was so depressed, hurt and _lifeless_; and if you're good, it's easy to hide behind your eyes and make yourself appear normal. I knew what signs to look out for, and I know sooner or later, this vampire is going to have a breakdown. She was barely holding on, and she couldn't be any older than I am, well in her human years, God knows how old she really is.

"This is Rosalie and her mate Emmett", Carlisle started, indicating to the couple. Rosalie just crossed her arms and stared at the vampire, Emmett on the other hand, smiled and said "Sup?". I nearly rolled my eyes, typical Emmett response.

"This is Alice and Jasper". Alice showed the vampire a large smile, while Jasper curtly nodded and closely watched her. He was probably closely analysing her emotions, just in case she became angry again, or tried to run away.

"This is Edward and Bella, Bella is our newest member of the group, along with her and Edward's daughter Renesmee." Edward nodded to the vampire, he too was concentrating on the vampire, trying to read her thoughts, but by the look on his face, I'd say he wasn't getting through at all. I gave the vampire a small smile. She however, was looking at Renesmee, watching her. Then she turned back to me, and stared.

"That's actually a very long story. One that we can leave for another day." Said Carlisle, indicating to the vampire's confusion on how I could possibly have given birth if I'm a vampire.

"And last of all, this is Jacob. He is Bella's best friend." Said Esme, indicating to Jacob who was holding onto Renesmee tightly and protectively. The vampire's stares at Renesmee must have made him nervous. He nodded once, and kept holding onto Renesmee. The vampire looked at Jacob, then took a step back. Whatever the vampire went through before she bumped into us, must have been traumatising.

"Hello. You can call me Nessie". Said Renesmee, smiling at the vampire. She didn't seem cautious of the vampire at all. This was a good thing, if Renesmee trusted her, then maybe the vampire was okay. Unlike when Renesmee met the Volturi, she was nice to them, but I know my own daughter, she was extremely cautious; knowing the danger she was in.

"What do we call you?" Nessie asked. Everyone looked at the vampire who simply looked down, indicating that she didn't want to answer.

"That's okay. Would you like to take a shower? That mud must be uncomfortable." Suggested Esme, though I'm quite sure that mud wouldn't bother a vampire, it was a sweet, motherly gesture, nonetheless.

A few things happened at once. The vampire nodded, while still looking at her feet. Alice and Jasper both turned to Edward, obviously saying something to him, through their thoughts. Edward nodded, then stood up.

"Perhaps Bella should go with you, it's a large bathroom and the glass is stained so you have your privacy. I can understand that being alone in a foreign house can be intimidating, so if you need anything she will be right there." Edward suggested. Everyone else, including me and excluding Alice and Jasper, looked at Edward as if he was crazy.

The vampire stared at Edward as if trying to understand something, then nodded once and looked at me. I stood up and walked towards her, stopping beside Esme. I trusted Edward, if he says I should look after her, then I will.

"Right, well I will walk you both up, so I can get you some towels, and some clean clothes." Said Esme, leading the vampire and I upstairs and into the bathroom.

The vampire walked around the room, looking at everything. The Cullens did have a nice bathroom. Large, and covered in white marble, it had gold plated designs on the walls and floor. Complimenting the design were water lilies in water filled, glass bowls, which Alice placed around the bathroom herself. To the left was a huge mirror, the very same one that Alice prepared my hair and makeup for my wedding day, not nearly a year ago. It had a spa, a shower, a bathtub and four sinks. A human girl's dream bathroom; vampires didn't need to wear makeup or do their hair, or bathe for that matter. But everyone here still bathed, more out of habit than anything else, but not as often as a human would have to. Vampires didn't sweat and they all smell nice, which was part of the predator appeal. According to Jasper though, nomadic vampires rarely bathed at all. Not in a gross way, but they just didn't _need _to, unless they got covered in mud.

Esme pulled some towels out of a cupboard and placed them next to the shower, on a hanger. She then smiled at the vampire and squeezed her shoulder affectionately. Then she walked towards me smiled and mouthed 'thankyou', before closing the door behind her. Well this was a little awkward. The vampire stared at me for what felt like forever and then she looked down, almost shyly. Whoops! If I was human I would have been blushing right now.

"Sorry". I said, turning around so she could undress. I heard the faucets being turned and the shower door shut, but I didn't turn around. What would be the point anyway? If anything went wrong I could hear it in half a second and be able to help her in even less time than that.

Another thing I noticed about myself was that I wasn't scared or intimidated by her. Being a human, you are always unsure of yourself and what you can or can't handle. If I was human right now, I would have been scared. Not for my own life, she didn't have red eyes. More for her life. If something went wrong I wouldn't be able to help her. I was too dependent on everyone else helping me, instead of the other way round.

When I first met Edward and the rest of the Cullens, it took a while getting use to the idea of people looking after me. I've always looked after myself and others. I took care of my mum after she left Charlie, then when I moved to Forks I took care of Charlie as well. Rarely did I need anything from anyone. I was always capable. It was out of my nature to be helpless and I hated it. Now as a vampire, one of the many perks besides being immortal (and therefore forever being with Edward) was that I can handle myself and my apparent bad luck. I wasn't strong enough for this new world, now I am. And if something happens now, physically I can take care of the situation, I don't need to stand aside and let others take control.

The water stopped running, and the door of the shower opened. I could hear the water dripping off of the vampire's body and the sound of the towel swishing through the air before it stopped, wrapped securely around the vampire's body. Then I heard a gasp.

I turned around and I heard myself gasp as well. The vampire's injuries were far worse than I thought they were. Her cuts covered a large majority of her body. Her arms, legs, and cheeks were covered in scratches and her shoulder had what looked like a large bite mark. If she hadn't been fast in the fight, which I presume she was, her shoulder would have been torn off. What kind of a werewolf would do this?

The vampire took her appearance very bad; she looked like she was in a state of shock. I managed to reach her before she fell to the ground. She was dry sobbing; her hands covering her face. All I could do was hug her until she calmed down. But she didn't. I wish I knew what she was thinking, I wish I could call for Edward. But I had a feeling that if I did, the vampire would stop. She needed this, she needed to cry.

"Shh, it's okay." I said, feeling stupid. I knew what it was like to be offered comforting words and have them feel like meaningless garbage, but I wasn't going to give up. I had to get through to her somehow. "Listen to me, I know you have been through a lot, I can see how sad you are." I nearly hit myself, Bella you idiot! Obviously she is sad, she's crying!

"Hey, nothing I'm going to say to you will make you feel any better or will make a difference. I just want you to know that the pain you feel will get better, it doesn't seem that way now, but it will. And you're not alone anymore. Everyone here is willing to help you if you let us. We are all here for you, don't forget that." I said quietly. I really wish Alice was here. She had a way with words that I could never muster.

The vampire stopped crying and looked up at me. She stared into my eyes as if trying to see the truth in my words. She nodded and gave me the tiniest of smiles. She was saying 'thank you'. I nodded and stood up, pulling her with me.

"You are going to be okay". I said, rubbing her shoulder. I realised I was the only one, beside Carlisle and Esme, that she allowed to touch her.

There was a light knock on the door, I opened the door by a small fraction and peeked through. It was Esme holding some clean clothes. 'Everything okay?' she mouthed. I nodded and accepted the clothes that she placed in my arms. I shut the door and walked back towards the vampire. I offered her the clothes which she took. I smiled at her and picked up her old, ripped muddy clothes to throw out. She stopped me by placing her hand on my arm. I frowned and gave them to her. I think she wanted to keep them.

"That's fine." I told her. "Will you like me to wait outside in the hallway for you?"

She nodded and turned around, waiting for me to leave. I walked towards the door and had one quick glance back, to double check that she was okay, before I closed the door behind me. I let out a long breath, more from a psychological habit as I obviously didn't require breathing, and leaned against the wall opposite the door, waiting. Edward must have known that this was going to happen, or Alice. Probably Alice, who then had her mind read by Edward. I would have to ask Edward when we get back to our cottage.

The door opened and the vampire walked out. I didn't realise how beautiful she was until now, even though she was covered in battle wounds. She had long, dark, chocolate brown hair, which stopped a few inches above her hips. She had an hourglass figure, which gave her curves to die for and a yellow/olive skin tone. She must be Hispanic. Her eyes, when she was human, must have been brown. Her eyelashes were dark and long, she had full lips and dark features. She was tall as well, a good 5'8. She was wearing Esme's grey sweat pants and a black tank top.

"Come on, let's go join the others". I said, extending my hand, inviting her to hold mine if she wanted to. She did. She placed her hand in mine and we both walked down the stairs to the lounge room, where everyone was waiting for us.

All eyes were on us, none of them seemed surprised that the vampire and I became acquainted. Edward did slap Emmett on the back of the head though. I would have to ask him why later.

We reached the end of the stairs and the vampire let go of my hand, so I joined Edward who was standing near the couch. He gave me a small smile, like I'd done something incredible. I would have to seriously interrogate him later!

"That's better." said Esme, "Now you aren't covered in mud. I have a room ready for you. It's a guest bedroom, but you will like it. I can show you where that is now if you like?"

The vampire nodded, and was led away by Esme, back up the stairs.

Emmett let out a very low wolf whistle once Esme and the vampire were out of sight. Both Edward and Rosalie slapped him on the back of the head.

"Ow! The hell?!" he asked quietly, rubbing his head.

"You _are_ a douche" Edward told him, grinning.

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Half an hour later, Edward, Nessie and I were back at our cottage. Nessie had fallen asleep on Jacob, he insisted she didn't have to be moved but he needed his rest as well. I placed her in her room and kissed her forehead. I heard Edward come in, he placed his arms around my waist and rested his head on my shoulder.

"Do you want to explain to me what was going on before?" I asked him.

"Sure, but first..." He started before swooping me up and carrying me bridal style to the back of the cottage, though the door and into our little garden. We recently placed a hammock in between two trees, which made for a nice area to just sit and be together. He placed me on the hammock, before sitting down next to me and laying me on top of him. We lay together without speaking for a while, then I nudged him.

"Which answer do you want first love?" He asked me, while running a hand through my hair.

"How come you wanted me of all people to go upstairs with her? Wouldn't Alice have been better?" I asked, while staring at the moon, which was a full, perfect circle in the night sky.

"A few seconds before I spoke up, Alice had a vision of the vampire getting very upset over her image, and in her vision, you were comforting her. Anyone else wouldn't have been able to say the right thing. You did, so I suggested for you to go."

"Oh, so you all knew that she was going to breakdown in front of me?"

"Yes, but I wouldn't have suggested it if I knew you couldn't handle it Bella. You have a way with people. You know what to say to make them feel better. And a lot of them look up to you."

"They do? Like who?" I asked, curiously. I turned around so that I could see his face.

He looked beautiful in the moonlight. Focus Bella!

"Alice, Jacob, Renee, Nahuel, Nessie, the Amazon Coven, me... do you want me to continue?" He asked, smiling at me.

"No, that's fine." I respond, smiling back at him. "They really look up to me?"

"Silly Bella. You doubt yourself too much." He said, caressing my cheek with his hand.

"Before I forget, where were you all when she was crying? You left the house." I asked.

"The others wanted me to explain and I couldn't do that when we were so close to the both of you. Also, if they had heard her get upset before I explained anything, Jacob or Jasper would have interfered, to make sure that you were okay. She needed to release some of her pain. I feel very sorry for her, I can't even begin to imagine what she has been through."

"I know, it must have been awful. She must have completely closed herself off from everything if you can't read her mind." I said.

We looked at the stars together, leaving the conversation for the night. Interesting how just a few months after the near war with the Volturi, the peace is disturbed by something else. I think Forks is a trouble magnet. Or maybe I am.

"Edward, why did Emmett's head deserve three slaps? What did he say?" I asked.

Edward seemed to chuckle at the memory. "When you descended from the stairs holding the vampire's hand, he thought, and I quote, 'That's hot!'. Then Rosalie got jealous because he whistled at her, so I threw in another slap, just for good benefit."

"Is that so?" I asked "Remind me to hit him tomorrow."

Edward laughed. "Looking forward to it, love."

We stayed there all night, not talking; just thinking. While watching the silver moon slowly leave the sky until a pink, early morning sun overtook the horizon.

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**There you go guys! Hope you like it! I'm thinking that the vampire should look like a cross between these stunning women: **

**Paz Vega **

**Jessica Alba **

**Michelle Rodriguez **

**If you want to see the photos of them, go to my profile. =]**

**I don't know why, but I have a thing for Latino girls, they're gorgeous aren't they?? I would love to draw the character but I can't draw people, so this is all I got. Please review and any constructive criticism would be good. **

**Obrigada! Peace! =]**


	5. Clutz

**Hey everyone, here is the next chapter, hope you like it! And please review if you can! **

**Disclaimer: This isn't copyright, I'm just borrowing these characters. I do NOT own the Twilight series, Stephenie Meyer does. Otherwise, I'd be rolling in the Benjamin's! And have a garage FULL of American Muscle cars!!**

**Warning: Future slash, in case you didn't get it when I warned you in the previous chapters ^__^ Lol Also some language, no thanks to (yep you guessed it) – Rosalie! :D**

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_Alice's POV – _

"She did what?!" Bella and Jacob asked at the same time, mouths hanging open.

"I'm telling you, not long after Edward, Nessie and the both of you left for the night, she went to the guest bedroom and fell asleep." I said, as I helped Esme cook Jacob and Seth breakfast.

"I don't believe you". Bella said, frowning. "How is that even possible? I never feel tired or anything. Not once have I felt the urge to sleep. Even after the Volturi left Forks, I swear I could have taken down a whole mountain on my own."

"That's what is confusing me." Esme added in. "In all of my years as a vampire, I have never met one that even wanted to sleep, let alone accomplished the task of doing so. What about you dear?"

"No, I haven't either. It's actually quite fascinating. When she does start talking I look forward to asking her about it." Carlisle said from upstairs, in his study, as he was flicking through some of his books. "I cannot even find anything remotely close to her sleep behaviour."

"There are books on vampires?" Bella asked, face turned upwards towards the ceiling, looking directly at where Carlisle would be sitting.

"Of course there are Hells Bells, haven't you heard of the fiction book _'Midnight Rising'_?" Interrupted Jacob, who was holding Renesmee in his lap, before Carlisle could answer.

I frowned, turning to Jacob. "How have you heard of it? Isn't that book about a vampire romance?" I asked with a smirk on my face. Bella giggled while Esme, Carlisle and Seth chuckled.

Jacob rolled his eyes. "For crying out loud, I didn't actually read it. The girls at La Push were talking about it."

"Interesting, you would think that their parents wouldn't be too happy about them reading vampire romance novels. Especially since some of their relatives are werewolves, who exist to destroy vampires." Said Esme.

"Well I'm pretty sure their parents _aren't_ too happy about it, but teenage girls? They're scary and they can't be stopped. The best thing to do is to stand out of their way." Jacob said. "Now a story on werewolves? That would be awesome! Imagine the adventure, action, imprinting and humour! That would make a great story!"

"Debinetbly." Said Seth, talking with his mouth full.

I rolled my eyes, "Oh please, stories about vampires are way more interesting!" I said.

"Are not! Who would want to read about immortal beings sucking blood all the time and wining about no one liking them?" Said Jacob, I noticed he never used the term 'leech' anymore to describe us. He must be really warming up to us now. Rosalie still called him _dog_, I called him pup every now and then, which sounded less menacing than dog. However I said mine out of affection if anything, Rosalie, on the other hand, simply loved insulting him.

"Uh, Jakey? What about me? Wouldn't I be interesting to read about?" Asked Nessie.

"Of course you would, baby. You would be in the werewolf stories and in those stories, all the werewolves wished that they could have imprinted on you, but they didn't because I got there first." Finished Jacob.

"Why would you be in it Jake?" Asked Bella, smirking.

"Hey! I'd be very interesting to read about!" Jacob responded, feigning being insulted, while grinning back at her.

"Bella, didn't you want to know about vampire books?" Asked Carlisle, while walking down the stairs, interrupting the argument that would either go on forever, or end up with Bella hurting Jacob.

"Yes, I know there are fiction books on vampires, _obviously._" She said, casting a look at Jacob. "But are there actual non-fiction books, filled with the correct information about all of us?"

Carlisle joined us, sitting next to Jacob and Seth. "Not many. I have a few, most of which I have written myself. I have met many interesting vampires, and I figured that listing them all in a book would make for a rather interesting collection of information. Just the basic stuff like name, where they live, how they were turned, unusual habits and what powers, if any, that they have. It could be useful one day, you never know. Aro himself has written some, you know what he is like. He will either collect as many unique vampires as possible, kill them or list them in his books. That way, if he ever does need them, he can pick one. Like a catalogue." He added.

"You said you have written some yourself?" asked Bella.

"Yes, they are organised by era. The new one I am working on will have you and Nessie in it. I will also add this new vampire guest of ours, especially since she is the first of our kind to actually sleep; well as far as I know."

"You better put a mention of me in there Doc, you know because I imprinted on Nessie." Said Jacob grinning at Carlisle.

"Well I suppose I could briefly mention you Jacob..."

"You serious?! I was just messing with you, but now that you said it, thanks!"

"You realise Carlisle that Jake is now expecting a huge pull out poster of him." Said Bella, smiling.

"Hey! You need a lot of paper to capture all of _this!_" Jake said, gesturing towards his muscled upper body.

Bella rolled her eyes and laughed, "Yeah right, whatever you say Jacob. You must have hit your head or something!"

"I'm an extremely hot commodity!"

"Okay, enough!" I yelled, before Bella could respond and this conversation went on forever. Esme and I finished cooking and served the so called 'food' to Seth and Jacob. I don't know how they find this, bacon and eggs, appealing. Of course, I don't even remember my human life, so this food must have been appetising to me at some stage of my existence. Jacob gave Nessie to Bella, so that he could eat, and thanked Esme and I before he sat back down.

"Grandpa Carlisle, how come the vampire's wounds won't heal?" Asked Nessie.

"Yeah, what's up with that? The poor girl looks like a walking, cracked, porcelain vase." Added Jacob.

Carlisle frowned, "You see, I'm not sure about that, mind you I have a few theories on what could have postponed or prolonged her healing. But the best theory I have revolves around her subconscious; or psychological state of mind."

"What do you mean dear?" Asked Esme, sitting next to him at the table.

"Well I think that she either doesn't like herself very much, thinks she deserves to be punished, or is far too upset to allow herself to heal. Whatever the reason, I'm sure, relates to why she won't talk. She must have been through a lot."

A quick flash of a vision shifted through my head. "Change the topic, they will be home in approximately 3 minutes." I said.

"Alice, when are you going to Port Angeles again?" Asked Esme.

"I was going to go today, actually, I'm thinking of taking all of us girls to get some new clothes." I said, reaching for my hand bag, to make sure all of my credit cards where inside.

"I hope you don't mean Nessie and me as well." Said Bella, looking a little discomforted, she still hated shopping, humph, someday she will love Gucci as much as I do.

"Actually I do, girls can't shop alone!" I said in a sing song voice, smiling at her discomfort.

Bella and Nessie exchanged a look, before Bella placed her head on the table, defeated. Oh yeah, I rule!

Just then, Jasper, Edward, Emmett, Rosalie and the female vampire walked through the front door, making their way towards the kitchen.

Jasper came up from behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, before kissing me on the back of the head. I smiled, before looking over my shoulder to kiss his cheek.

Edward sat next to Bella, picking up her hand, entwining his fingers with hers and gave her a kiss on the lips; before kissing Nessie on the cheek.

"Sup guys?" Asked Emmet, as he and Rosalie sat around the table. The vampire stood by the entrance to the kitchen, unsure of what to do. Bella caught the vampire's eye and gestured to the spare seat next to her. The vampire sat down, giving Bella a small smile.

"How was the run?" Asked Carlisle, which meant 'how was breakfast'.

"Good, we showed new girl here all the hot spots for the best stags, deers and elks." Responded Emmett.

"Did you eat?" Asked Esme, looking at the vampire.

The vampire lightly shook her head.

"No, she just watched us eat, and then we went with her to scope the area, so that she knew what everything looked like and where everything was." Said Edward.

I turned towards the vampire, "Hey, we, that is, the girls and I, are going to Port Angeles today to do some shopping, would you like to come?" I asked.

The vampire looked straight away at Bella, as if trying to tell her something by just looking into her eyes alone.

"Um, Alice, maybe big crowds are not a good idea for her right now." Said Bella, obviously realising what the vampire was trying to communicate. How did she do that?

"There won't be any. School started last week, remember? And those who graduated have college now. So no big crowds, what so ever." I said, giving the vampire a smile.

Bella looked at the vampire once more, then turned back towards me, "Okay, she'll go".

"Awesome!" I said, before getting up, and dragging Rosalie with me, to go and change for an afternoon of shopping.

"This is going to be a long afternoon." I heard Bella say, before she groaned.

I laughed, as Rosalie and I went into my room to pick something to wear. "Get used to it Bella, I've got all eternity to make you appreciate and love shopping!"

"Okay, I withdraw my previous statement, this is going to be a hell of a long eternity!" she said.

Everyone chuckled at her discomfort.

* * *

_Rosalie's POV - _

Shopping was an excellent idea! It wasn't even raining just, as usual, extremely overcast. Not that that would have mattered. My hair looked nice, no matter what the weather was like. Unlike many human girls, whose hair would fuzz up, because the rain would ruin their straightened hair. Huh! Wannabes.

The new girl still wasn't talking, Emmett said that we have only known her for a day and a half and to give her time, but who cares?! She could say something every now and then. Wouldn't kill her, obviously!

"Aunt Rosalie, look at that!" Said Nessie, who I was carrying in my arms. She was growing very fast! Sooner or later, we won't be able to carry her. Well, us vampires would, the humans won't be able to. I looked at where Nessie was pointing, and I smiled. So, my little niece loves motorcycles? Interesting, that gave me an idea on what I could buy her for her 16th birthday, that is, if Edward and Bella approve first. We both looked at the motorcycle in question. It was a gorgeous black Kawasaki Ninja, parked on the side of the road. Even I could appreciate its beauty. It seemed like Nessie and Jacob do go well together. Hmm, I wonder if the dog would like one of these types of motorbikes. I would have to subtly ask Bella, I didn't want anyone finding out that my hate for him was slowly disintegrating, not yet anyway.

"Mum, look!" Nessie said, calling for Bella, who was being dragged by Alice to look through a shop window, while the vampire was waiting patiently beside them. Bella looked at Nessie then at the motorbike she was pointing to. Bella smiled at her and walked towards us. She took Nessie from me and they both went to get a closer look at the motorbike. Not like they needed to get any closer to notice the detail, especially with our vampire eyes, but Nessie probably wanted to touch it. I smiled, that girl would be terrible in a museum.

It seemed that Bella loved the motorbike as well. I would have to tell Edward to get her the exact same one. The vampire also seemed to appreciate the Ninja, as she walked towards it and looked at the detailed body. I gave her a once over, she looked a bit more normal than before, because Alice got Bella to cover the vampire's face with a concealer, to hide the scratches, or 'cracks', in her skin. She was still wearing Esme's grey sweats, along with a green hoodie, borrowed from my Emmett. So at least her arms and legs were covered, otherwise we would have run out of makeup if we had to cover them as well.

"Come on, you three!" Said Alice, clearly annoyed that the three girls were admiring a motorbike instead of the clothes which had captured Alice's attention. "You are not men! You're women! Act feminine for a few minutes, please!!"

I laughed and caught up with Alice, who went back to staring through the shop window. I peered into the window, hmm, Port Angeles had some Prada, last season, but it was workable. Oh wait! Luis Vuitton, this season! Score!

"Hey. In here." I said to Bella, as Alice and I walked into the store. It was quite a cute boutique. It had aisles of clothes at the front, makeup on one side and a changing room on the other. It was big for a boutique too.

I went straight away to the Luis Vuitton. A few dresses and a pair of shoes. The shoes were incredible! I went to pick up the shoes, and at the same time, so did Alice. We both glared at each other, neither letting go.

"Rose, if you let me have these I will buy you six different pairs from Italy, and a bag, and you will have it by the end of the week." Said Alice.

"But I like _this_ style." I said.

"Okay, how about six pairs of shoes, the bag _and _I will buy you that dress." She said, pointing towards a Dior gown which I didn't notice. It was breathtaking! And, it would look even better on me!

"Deal." I said, grinning, before going for the Luis Vuitton dresses, just in case Alice got them as well. Hey, I may be getting the shoes, bag and gown, but I lost the gorgeous shoes that Alice was slipping onto her feet. It's not about the quantity of items you buy, it's about what you desire, and I desired those shoes! But I was different from Alice, she _hated_ last season clothes, bags and shoes. I loved them! Why? Probably because I can pull off _anything_! Sooner or later, Alice will throw those shoes away, and they will be mine. Which leaves me with the seven pairs of shoes, a new Luis Vuitton bag and the Dior gown. Score!

"How is it that a small place like Port Angeles has new season Luis Vuitton and Dior?" Asked Bella, as she picked up the Dior gown Alice was going to buy me, and looked at the tag. "It's authentic and everything, and ... oh my gosh! Alice! This is a $4000 dress!" She said, mouth gaping at the gown.

"Bella, its Dior!" Said Alice, rolling her eyes, as if saying 'duh'.

"It's a long gown Bella, it's a lot of fabric and it _is _Dior." I said, taking the dress from her to go and try it on. I walked into a cubicle to change.

"You're all crazy. If I picked up one of these $100 dresses and put a Dior label on it, you would all go nuts for it and pay $4000. You're paying for the brand name, Rose, nothing else!" Said Bella.

I exited the cubicle and walked to the mirror which was right beside it. I looked amazing! "Trust me Bella, it's worth it." I said, spinning around in front of them. Bella, Alice and Nessie mouths dropped open. The store owner was also looking, though she seemed more envious than appreciative or admiring. Even that she-vampire was looking at me. I will never get tired of this!

"You look stunning, but you get my point don't you?" Asked Bella.

"Yes I get your point, but ignorance is utter bliss!" I said, walking back into the cubicle to change back into my own clothes.

"Oh, wow! Look at this! Bella! This would look amazing on you!" Said Alice, obviously showing Bella some piece of clothing that she found attractive.

"No, no, no! Alice, _you_ try it on! Thanks, but I've got an eternity supply of clothing in my cottage no thanks to you."

"You know, if I didn't love you, I would be ignoring your requests and buying you clothes every week."

"You bought be clothes every week anyway, until I had to practically beg Carlisle to make you stop! But I know that if you didn't love me, you would have been getting me clothes every day, just to annoy me. Now go try on the dress."

"Okay, but you have to try on this!"

Bella sighed, "Fine, I will try it on, I was eyeing it anyway. Nessie, hun, come with me, let me know if this will look stupid or not."

I walked out of the cubicle so that Alice could use it, while Bella and Nessie went into the one next to it. That she-vamp was standing a few metres away, eyes wandering the shop and anyone else who was inside. It's like she was observing them, what a freak!

Just then, a familiar smell caught my nose. I had smelt it before. It smelt like too much makeup and a very cheap and strong combination of perfume. This smell was unique, because only one girl I knew of wore those particular perfumes mixed. Lauren Mallory walked pass the shop window, she was with three other girls. At least their perfume smelt a little more pleasant. Though it wasn't to my taste, I preferred my 'Chanel no. 5'.

An outfit in the window caught her interest as she went pass, resulting in Lauren and her followers entering the same boutique which we were in. She walked inside, acting like she owned the place and then she looked around the entire store, eyes falling on me.

"Oh my." She said quietly, turning around and looking the other way. "Look who else is here! Rosalie Cullen."

The three girls, all subtly (well what they must've thought was subtle) turned towards my way, and their eyes widened at the same time.

"Wow, she's beautiful! I've never seen someone like her in real life, only in, like, the movies or something!" One of them said. Well, at least they had taste.

"Don't look at her!" Said Lauren, who was looking through some of the clothes, in the furthest aisle away from me. "The Cullen lot are all weird."

"What do you mean?" Questioned one of the girls.

"Her and her family? They are all _together_ while they are living under the same roof. It's not normal I tell you. They never socialise with anyone else, they think they are better than us and they are just weird. They are not like you and me."

I could feel my inner vampire get pissed. I wanted to attack Lauren and wipe that stupid look off her face. I had to ignore that inner desire; it was a temptation that was hard to ignore but one which we must ignore; for all of our sakes. If any one of us slips up once, we would have to leave this side of the country. It would make moving anywhere, extremely difficult.

"_Together_, like, incest?"

"Eww, no! I mean they were all adopted and then went for each other."

"How dare she!" Whispered Alice from the cubicle. Alice was staying in there, to try and calm herself down. Lauren was making her angry as well. Oh crap! If I was finding it hard to calm myself down, then Bella-

"Mum, it's okay, just ignore her." I heard Nessie say. Well done gorgeous! Calm her down. I walked towards Bella's cubicle and peered over the door.

"Bella are you okay?" I whispered. She was sitting down with Nessie on her lap and her eyes were darkening, she was angry.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just finding it hard to resist the urge to snap her neck. I never realised how much I didn't like her."

"Bella, this is serious, do I need to hold you down? Alice?" I asked.

"I can't be sure, it all depends on how much more Lauren says. Just stand in front of her door, Rosalie, in case she tries to lunge at Lauren". Alice answered.

"How did you go with your college applications Lauren?" Asked one of her followers.

"Really good, many different colleges wanted me of course, even Dartmouth wanted me!"

"Really? Wow! You must've worked hard in your finals."

"Oh I did, it takes brains and a lot of hard work, but it was all in me from the start."

Lauren walked towards the makeup section and starting trying the free testers. As she was applying mascara, she again opened that big mouth of hers, to what she must have thought was a whisper.

"Of course, some of us are so rich, that we get everything we want handed to us on a gold platter. Makes you wonder how smart the whole Cullen lot really are. Especially Carlisle, the father, I mean, I bet you he didn't even have to go to school to become a doctor, he probably just gave a hospital a big, fat pay cheque to get a job there."

That's it! That bitch is going down! No one talks about Carlisle or any of us that way! I was about to walk up to her and give her a piece of my mind when I noticed that the she-vamp had walked into an aisle, right next to where Lauren and her friends were. She let out a low growl, which sounded like the growl of a black panther, warning her enemy to leave her alone. She imitated it perfectly!

The growl was loud enough for Lauren to hear it, who jumped, knocking her head against the wall. She also broke the tester stand, resulting in her spilling makeup all over the floor and on the store clothes she was holding in her arm. And to top it all off, the clothes were white _and_ Lauren knocked the makeup brush against her face, which left a long and thick black line of mascara going from her chin to her forehead. Her friends laughed and the store owner walked towards her and told her off.

"But it's not my fault! I heard something scary, over there!" She said, pointing to the aisle the vampire was in. By the time the store owner got to the aisle, the she-vamp was standing right by my side.

Alice, Nessie and I were trying to keep our laughter to a minimum, so that we wouldn't attract attention. Even Bella was giggling. Then, when Alice, Bella and Nessie exited the cubicles I noticed Bella looked a little upset. I would have to ask her later what was wrong.

Lauren had to pay for the damaged clothes and clean up the makeup which was spilt all over the floor. And her friends had to help. Oh my, wasn't karma fun?

As we were waiting for the shop assistant to come back, so that Alice could pay for the clothes, I looked at the she-vampire standing beside me.

"You know what. You're all right." I said to her, giving her the smallest hint of a smile.

She looked at me and returned my gesture, as if saying 'thankyou'. Hmm, maybe she wasn't that much of a freak after all, though the lion and panther imitations were unique. I had never met a vampire who could do that.

"Sorry about that, ladies, some people are just so clumsy." Said the shop assistant who had returned to the cash register. "Oh, hi Alice! How are you? Long time no see."

"Not bad, thank you Ashley. Has it been busy?" Alice responded.

"Not really, with school back on, business is a little slow. How did the college applications go? Any good offers?"

"Well actually," I said, cutting in and looking over at Lauren who was cleaning the floor, "We all got offers from Harvard, Yale and Oxford. Can you believe it?" I said really loudly, to make sure that the cow heard me.

"Oh wow! Really?! That's amazing, congratulations, all of you." Said Ashley, looking impressed.

"Yeah, we even got offers from Dartmouth, but compared to Harvard, Yale and Oxford, Dartmouth looks really insignificant, doesn't it?" I said, grinning. "Plus, it's _so _overrated!" I added for good measure.

With that, Alice paid for the clothes and shoes, and we all made our way back to my BMW, with Lauren's look of disbelief and jealousy etched in our memories.

* * *

**What do you guys think so far? I know a lot didn't happen in this chapter, but I promise, things definitely start happening in the next one! Please review, criticisms would be good, to see if I'm making any mistakes. **

**Obrigada! :D **


	6. First Meetings

**Hey guys! Here is the next chapter. This chapter is a little more intense than the last one, hope you like!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Twilight series, Stephenie Meyer does. Which is a pity because if I did own it, I'd make the werewolves hot for each other! Just saw New Moon, so anyone else who also has, you know what I'm talking about ;D You were thinking it too! It would be extremely SEXC!! **

**Warning: This is slash (homosexual). If you don't like it, well, no one is pointing a gun to your head to read this, are they? **

* * *

_Leah's POV - _

Sometimes, I feel like life passes by me, with no intention of taking me with it. Everyone seems to have something or someone. Everyone has their own 'thing'. I don't. Before Sam, I had Emily. She was my favourite cousin. We were so close. I had my dad, I had my mum and I had Seth. I also had friends. But one of the many downsides with being a werewolf, you can't involve outsiders. I had to abandon my friends. The only good thing about being a werewolf is that you can forget what it's like to feel emotion; you can run on pure instinct. Letting the animal take over numbs the conscious and numbs emotions. It numbs _feeling_. Emotion is a person's biggest weakest and it nearly ruined me. Also, the speed is exhilarating. I love the fact that I can run so fast, that I can outrun my problems and leave them behind. Sometimes though, your problems run faster and they catch up with you.

I'm stuck. Stuck because I have two choices which can severely affect my future. I can either succumb to the inner wolf and let _Leah_ be forgotten. I can slowly forget everything I have ever been through. I can lose me; I can lose myself, forever. Or I can abandon my duty as a werewolf, as a protector of the human race, and let myself age and slowly, in 60 years or so, I can _die_. That leaves me with either eternal ignorance or temporary suffering. And quite frankly, I cannot distinguish which is worse and which is more relieving.

Why is it so hard falling back into a routine that you once lived? You think it would be easy to live a life that was once yours. To fall into a similar pattern that you once knew. But it's not that easy. You struggle and, unfortunately, you forget how to be what you once were. And if you _do_ remember, then why does it have to be so hard? Why can't we pick up our life and continue it from where we left it? Oh yeah, because in that life of yours, the one that you ditched, you hurt other people, the ones you have left behind.

"Well, look who it is!"

I stood in front of her house, uncomfortable and not sure what to do with myself. Getting up this morning, with the intention to make a difference to my life, was easy. This, dealing with people, was hard.

"Uh, h-hi Malila." I am the _only_ female werewolf to ever exist (apparently) and I have killed vampires for goodness sake! Why the hell am I this nervous?!

"What do you want _Clearwater_?" Malila asked with venom in her voice. Wow, for someone who used to be my best friend, she sounded pissed. Though I can't say that I blame her. She stood there on her porch, with her arms folded, okay, she looked very pissed.

"Um, how are you?" I nearly slapped myself; that sounded even dumber than I had intended.

"How do you _think _I am?! And why the hell do you care?!"

"Look, Malila, I didn't come here to fight. I came here to say sorry for..."

"For what? For suddenly not talking to me anymore? For ignoring me and not returning my calls? For hanging around with Sam Uley's gang instead of us? For not being my best friend anymore?!"

I looked down; I couldn't bring myself to look at her anymore. That look, I've had it pointed at me from everyone ever since Sam left me. It was a look which held anger, hate, annoyance, misunderstanding and no compassion. I stayed silent. All those accusations stung more than I thought they would.

"Well? Which one are you sorry for Leah?!"

I couldn't answer. I shouldn't have done this today. I wasn't ready. I had to go. Without another word I turned around and walked away from her.

"Don't even think of going to Chloe's or Kaya's house. They won't talk to you, I'll make sure of it!" she called out to me, as I disappeared into the forest.

I ran, and I kept running, with no real destination. My conscious was annoying me to no end. Stupid thing.

'_Well, this looks familiar, running away from your problems again, Leah?'_

"Shut up" I said out loud.

'_Hey, I'm just trying to help. You're the one who wanted to stay here in La Push and fix things.'_

"I said shut up! I don't need anyone rubbing in any more of my mistakes." Why the hell am I talking to myself? No, why am I _arguing_ with myself? Great I must be going mad.

'_Okay, fine, I'll shut up. But if you ask my opinion I think you should...'_

"Enough!" I said, before allowing the wolf to overcome me. I transformed, ripping my clothes into little pieces. I felt them fall off of my body as I kept running. Crap! Now I would have to go back to La Push to get some more clothes. But not yet, I just wanted to keep running.

This wasn't fair. I didn't think it would be this difficult trying to make my life better again. Trying to make it normal. I can see how people going through rehab may find things difficult. People who want to quit alcohol or drugs. It's hard. You want to quit an addiction and quit being weak and pathetic and dependable on something that makes your life miserable. But it's hard, because sometimes there are people waiting on the sidelines to remind you how much of a screw up you are.

I want to quit Sam and I want to quit unhappiness. But if I ever want to talk to anyone about it, they either roll their eyes because they have heard my whining before or tell me to 'get over it already!'. People will easily offer you their support, but it's the ones who are with you until the end that count. The ones that last the longest. The ones that have heard you say something a thousand times before but will keep giving you a shoulder to cry on because you matter to them, you matter. I don't matter to anyone.

Suddenly, a loud howl could be heard, coming from the north. It was Jacob, great, and it was coming from the direction of the _Cullen_ residence. I started running towards the direction of Jake's howl.

What did those bloody leeches want now? Oh, right, I remember. They had a new leech to add to that coven of theirs. She came into their lives nearly two weeks ago that I had completely forgotten about it. She must have finally cracked; both literally and technically. She either fell apart because, apparently, her skin had cracks in it as she couldn't heal, wow big deal! She was still immortal so who cares if the _poor _leech doesn't look pretty? Or she went on a killing rampage, broke the treaty and now we have to hunt and kill some annoying menace which should have been killed in the first place.

I made my way to Jacob and then I stopped, for only a second. I groaned inwardly, Sam was coming up from behind me. There was no way in hell that I was running near him, or at least, not when it was just the two of us. I picked up my pace and tried keeping my thoughts to myself. Thankfully, he didn't talk to me. The whole point of joining Jake's pack was to get Sam out of my head. Then he had to pass rank to Jacob and now we are all one big happy pack family. Yeah right. There is only one thing I will ever envy that leech lover for. She can shield her thoughts from Edward. I don't know how she does it, but I wish I could do it to.

'_Hey sis,'_ Seth said to me when I arrived at a clearing. Paul, Jared, Quil, Embry and Jacob were already there waiting, all in wolf form. I heard Sam arrive from behind me. I walked towards Seth and sat next to him, turning to face Jake who was sitting in the centre of the clearing.

'_Uh, okay, there is no easy way to ask this, so I'm just going to say it.'_ Jacob started. Even in his wolf form you could see that he was a little nervous.

'_The new vampire that arrived a fortnight ago has been slowly progressing from her, uh, unusual behaviour. She still doesn't speak, she hasn't said a word since she arrived, but she has become a little more sociable.'_

'_How's that?'_ asked Sam.

'_Well, she sits with everyone a lot more, she helps Alice and Esme with cooking, cleaning and she even picks flowers with Alice. You know how much Alice loves decorating that house with plants.'_

'_True'_, everyone murmured in agreement. I was already bored.

'_So, Carlisle was thinking that, and please don't freak out... that you should maybe all come over and meet her.'_

No one thought anything for a minute, until Jared asked, _'Why?'._

'_We're not sure what she has been through, but I have a feeling that she is very scared of wolves.'_

I chuckled, what kind of a vampire was afraid of werewolves, or anything for that matter?

'_Leah, you forget that when we found her, she looked like she had come out of a battle with a lot of wolves'_. Jacob said, looking at me. I should really keep my thoughts to myself, damn it.

'_Yeah, I remember, but honestly, how traumatising could it have been for her?'_ I asked.

'_Well, she had, like, a massive breakdown in front of Bella when she saw her reflection.' _

'_Okay, so the vampire had a cry that her looks were spoilt.'_ I said, snapping at him.

Everyone groaned. My attitude obviously pissing everyone off, I didn't care though, not after the day I've had.

Jacob sighed, _'Look that's not the point. The point is, do you think you could all come to the Cullen house and meet her? You don't have to. I'm just asking all of you if you think it is a good idea and if you would like to come. Carlisle wants her to trust us and see that we are not going to harm her.'_

'_Yeah, I'll come. I'd like to see her wounds. To see how viciously she was attacked. Then maybe I can talk to the elders, ask them about it.'_ Said Sam.

Jared and Paul looked at each other and then at the same time, _'We'll come to.'_

'_Yeah, I want to see if she's hotter than Rosalie.'_ Said Quil.

'_Oh, me too! That would be interesting! Is she Jake?'_ Asked Embry.

'_I think she is'._ Said Seth.

'_Aww, little Seth is growing up and perving on the hot she-vamps!' _Said Jared.

'_Shut it, you!'_ Said Seth, who, if he was in human form, would be blushing. _'And I wasn't perving!'_

'_Yeah, I think Seth has a thing for Latin girls.'_ Said Jacob, smiling.

'_Thanks a lot Jake!' _

'_What? I'm just saying. Anyway, it's all a matter of taste. She's pretty, but Nessie is what I would call beauty.' _

'_Wow, who thought Jake was a romantic, huh?'_ Said Quil.

'_Oh please! Like you wouldn't say the same thing about Claire!'_

That shut Quil up.

'_Latin? Wow, what is she from Mexico or something?'_ Asked Paul.

'_Not sure, but she is definitely Hispanic.'_

'_Remember when those Brazilian vamps were here?'_ Embry said, excitedly.

'_Yeah, now they were fun to look at!'_

'_I don't know, the girls in the Irish clan were really attractive.'_

'_Yes, but did you see the legs on the Brazilians?'_

I rolled my eyes. I can't believe the safety of all of the humans in Forks and La Push is being looked after by these chuckle heads. I guess boys will be boys, or in this case, pups will be pups.

'_Come on, Leah, lighten up! Come with, maybe you might like the new vampire.'_ Said Paul, with a grin on his face.

'_I doubt it. I don't like any vampire Paul. I don't think I'm going to start with this one.'_ I said.

'_Just come with us Leah. Look, she is going to have to meet you eventually, might as well get it out of the way.'_ Seth said, looking at me. Damn him and his smart words.

'_Fine, I will stand nearby, so she can glance at me, and then I'm leaving. And I don't want any formal introductions, like hand shaking or anything lame like that!'_ I said, turning to Jacob to make sure that he understood me.

'_Okay, I get it. I will just point at you, then. Plus, I don't think she will be keen on wanting to go anywhere near any of you. She scared of werewolves, remember? She can't even be in a room alone with me.' _

'_So when do we meet her?'_ Asked Embry.

'_Is tonight too soon?'_ Jacob responded.

'_No'_. Said everyone is unison.

Jacob looked at me, I had yet to respond.

'_Uh, what time tonight?'_ I asked, I was planning on going to my favourite part of La Push forest, for, something. I had to avoid thinking it, otherwise the others might laugh at me, plus it wasn't any of their business.

'_Midnight, when there would be no one else in the forest at all. I don't want anyone from Forks walking through the forest and seeing werewolves and vampires all in one hit.'_

'_Yes we wouldn't want the poor Cullens to be exposed now, would we?'_ I said with sarcasm. Midnight, great, I would have to cancel my plans now. _'Midnight is fine.'_

'_Okay, I want everyone to meet me at my house and we will go there together. We can get there in wolf form, but we have to change back before we reach them. We wouldn't want to scare the vampire with a large pack of wolves approaching.' _Jacob said, taking the air of leader.

I scoffed at that, pity, it would've been fun scaring the leech a little bit.

'_Well, if that's all, see you at mine tonight.'_ Said Jacob, before walking out of the clearing, towards the location of the Cullen residence.

I walked back, in human form, towards the direction of La Push. I can't believe I have to cancel tonight, so we can all go show a blood sucker that the wolves of this town are friendly. When it's summed up like that, it sounds quite pathetic.

I am going to have to wait until the next full moon. A whole month! Brilliant. Stupid Quileute rituals revolving around the stupid full moon. Stupid vampires and their... stupidness! Okay Leah, that was lame! I was just so frustrated! I needed answers. I needed help. I feel that I'm living life blindfolded. With no one or nothing guiding me through it. If I could just have some of my questions answered, it might give me, I don't know, hope? Something to look forward to? If I become aware of what is going to happen to me in the future, then I might be better prepared. It will help me decide what I want to do with myself, damn it! Now I have to wait another whole month!

Dad said to me once, that if I ever needed answers, to look into the sky when a full moon was present, because that is when darkness is at its weakest. Our ancestors can see us and can answer our call for help. Of course, I was seven when he told me this. Then when I grew up, I thought all of our stories and legends were just myths. That is, until I became a werewolf. If our people really descended from wolves, then God knows what else of our stories are true.

As I climbed in through my bedroom window, something else started tugging at my heart. I was upset. Oh, that's right, I had forgotten about Malila. I sighed. I can't do anything about broken friendships now. Maybe I will go and see her again tomorrow. If there is one thing I can definitely say about myself, with 100% confidence, it is that I am as stubborn as hell.

* * *

_Edward's POV - _

'_She's nervous. Pacing around like that, if I was human I would probably be dizzy just by watching her. It's actually annoying...wish she would stop already.' _Was what Rosalie was thinking.

'_Poor thing, she is scared out of her wits.'_ Alice thought.

I frowned, looking at the vampire. She didn't seem that bad from face value. Her face was smoothed out to look calm and ready. Then I saw her eyes and in them I could see worry, fear and a hint of something else.

I looked at Jasper who was standing near the stairs, close to the vampire. He saw me look at him. _'Edward, I don't know about this, I got this feeling that it's not going to turn out good.'_

I nodded at him, to show him that I acknowledge his concern.

I turned my head towards Bella, who was standing next to me, holding Nessie. She too was watching the vampire. It was moments like these that I wished I could hear what Bella was thinking, just for the sake of_ knowing. _

Carlisle and Esme walked into the room, they froze once they saw everyone's faces.

"Come on everyone, it's not a funeral we are going to. This is a good thing." Esme said. "Everything will turn out great."

'_Not a funeral? Might as well be. Something bad will come out of this.' _Jasper thought.

"Should we get going then? It's almost midnight." Carlisle said, _'I hope nothing too drastic happens.'_

Of course, knowing what everyone was thinking wasn't always a good thing. Most of the time it's good knowing the truth behind a person's lie. But sometimes, taking something at face value can be good enough. It isn't re-assuring knowing that your family are worried, or upset, and lying about it.

As we walked into the darkness that had succumbed the forest, the vampire was far behind the group, walking slower that the rest of us. I still tried to listen to her thoughts, but it was like listening to an empty stadium. She must be a shield, like Bella. There isn't any other explanation for it. There couldn't be, could there? I need to know what she's thinking, whether she plans on running before we get to the meeting point or if she is thinking certain thoughts that require comforting from us.

I guess hearing others people's thoughts doesn't teach you everything. While others rely on the exterior to help them decide what someone is thinking or feeling, I rely on the interior. So much so, that I had almost forgotten how to read people at face value. Until, of course, I met Bella, and I needed to rely on the exterior to have some idea on what she was thinking or feeling. I still have a lot to learn, and I contemplated that thought as I watched Bella stay behind, until the vampire had caught up with her. Bella put her arm around her and pulled the vampire towards her, in a one armed hug. A reassuring and comforting gesture that told the latter that everything will be alright, and that no matter what happens, the former will be there for them.

Bella, being a very young vampire, could still remember and read emotions from face value. The vampire must have needed a hug; otherwise Bella wouldn't have proceeded with that gesture. I have a lot to learn, a lot to remember about humans. Though I don't remember my old life, my _mortal_ life, as soon as I tried remembering human behaviour, everything seemed to fall into place. Human behaviour and emotion is like an instinct to act upon. If someone you like is upset, you hug them; if someone is angry you instinctively take a step back. It was indeed very interesting behaviour to observe.

We got to the clearing within minutes. We all stood in a line, with the she-vampire standing in the middle. Bella was holding her hand, and Esme was on her other side, resting her hand on the vampire's shoulder. Listening to my families thoughts, I tried not to let my lips curl up in a smile. They all thought in sync of each other. Jasper was thinking and focusing on the vampire, making sure that she was calm. Alice was trying to get a vision, but gave up; whatever will happen involves the wolves, so she won't be able to see anything no matter how hard she tried. She then kept an eye on Jasper, waiting for a sign that the vampire would need to be detained. Emmet was thinking along the same lines as Jasper. Carlisle and Esme were both thinking about the vampire's reaction to seeing a pack of shape shifters. Rosalie was holding Nessie, and was only thinking about protecting my daughter, in case the _'dogs'_ (her words), got any funny ideas and decided to transform.

I heard a twig crack, a good half a mile away from here. They were getting close, it won't be long now. Now that the pack were within hearing range, we could make out how many of them were coming and what form they were coming in. There were eight of them, all in wolf form. Hopefully Jacob will get them to transform before they get so close that we can see them, or smell them. I looked at the vampire's face. She was showing a strong front, I looked at her eyes, and they were clear, set and determined. The tension surrounding us increased as the seconds ticked by, and as the footsteps got louder and louder.

We could hear the pack as they transformed, where four feet were replaced by two. Bella's shoulders relaxed a little, as if worried that Jacob would have walked into the clearing in wolf form. The pack entered the clearing, and judging by the way they were walking, they too seemed nervous, we weren't the only ones. For some reason this relieved me.

'_Now it gets interesting_.' Emmett thought.

The pack walked towards us, their faces illuminated by the moonlight which had found its way through the trees and was now touching the forest floor. Jacob was the only one smiling.

'_Keep up the happy face. It's all going to work out okay.' _He thought. _'Just keep smiling. I wonder if they... damn it! None of them are smiling! I probably look like an idiot now. I thought I told them to have a happy face!'_

That thought would've made me laugh if the situation wasn't so serious.

The pack reached us, and stopped five metres in front of us. Then there was silence. No one spoke, no one dared to move.

'_Oh for crying out loud!'_ Jacob thought.

"For crying out loud..." He spoke, repeating what he just thought. "Pack, this is the new vampire." He introduced, indicating to the she-vampire who was still standing in-between Esme and Bella.

'_Huh, what do you know? She _is_ prettier than Rosalie.'_ Paul thought.

'_What's up with her skin?'_ Jared thought. _'She looks like a statue that barely survived an earthquake._

'_Wonder why she won't speak, she doesn't look that traumatised...'_ Thought Quil.

'_Should I introduce myself? Or will Jacob do that?'_ Sam thought, frowning as he observed the she-vampire.

'_Do I shake her hand? Do I step forward and shake her hand now?_ Should _I shake her hand?_ _Didn't we say we wouldn't do that? Or did that just apply to Leah?'_ Embry asked himself.

Leah. Hmm, that made me look towards the only female member of the pack. She was standing at the back of the pack, facing the opposite direction, with her arms crossed. Using Emmett's choice of words, she looked _pissed._

'_This is so stupid! What a waste of time. I could have been at the cliff side by now. A whole month! A month! We could've done this tomorrow night, but no, Leah is getting too soft and didn't stand her ground! I should have demanded it!'_ Leah fumed.

I felt sorry for the rest of the pack. I nearly winced just be listening to her angry thoughts once. They had to put up with her all the time. It was a pity that she was always so upset. I would ask Jake of it later, but I couldn't make out exactly what Leah was angry about.

"This is Jared, that's Paul, Embry, Quil, Sam and that's Leah at the back there." Jacob said, pointing to each of them respectively. They all smiled and waved when their name was said. All except Leah, who hadn't changed her position at all; she didn't look at the vampire once. "And Seth you already know." Jacob finished, indicating to Seth, who was standing right next to him.

"Hey." Seth said, smiling up at the vampire.

The vampire returned Seth's gesture with the smallest hint of a smile and then raised her hand in a half wave to everyone else. She then lowered it and let it rest by her side once more.

"Jacob and his pack have united with us and have helped us countless times in defending Forks; as well as protecting our own family. So you have nothing to worry about out, they are our family and our friends, they will never hurt you." Esme said to the vampire.

The entire pack were touched by Esme's little speech. Who knew that it mattered to the wolves what we thought of them?

"Unless of course you eat someone, then it might be hard for us to be friends." Quil joked.

Everyone snickered at that. The pack already knew from Jacob, that the vampire was a vegetarian, like the Cullens; if anything they were snickering at Quil's attempt to lighten the mood.

"So how long will you be staying here?" Sam asked curiously.

The vampire looked down, for those who didn't know her, they would say she was shy, but we knew better, that simple gesture meant that someone else could speak for her.

"We don't know yet, she will reside with us for as long as she wishes." Carlisle said.

"What about her coven? Or her family? Doesn't she have any?" Asked Paul.

"She probably ate them and then ran away." Leah muttered coldly, looking anywhere but at us.

The response was rapid.

As Jacob turned his head to tell Leah to 'shut up', he was interrupted as several things happened at once.

The she-vampire had let out a very loud, lion-like roar and leapt into the air, aiming for Leah. Emmett, Jasper and I also jumped, we grabbed onto the vampire and all landed in a heap on the ground. The vampire was struggling and growling, trying to break free from our hold, trying to reach for Leah. Even with the three of us holding her down, she was still able to continue moving and I didn't put it past her to bite us either. Esme, Carlisle and Alice stood in front of us, shielding the pack from the vampire, while Rosalie took Nessie back to our house, just in case things got out of hand.

Bella then appeared by my side, using her 'newborn' strength to hold down the vampire. It seemed to work, the vampire couldn't move anymore. Bella then lowered her head to the vampire's ear and started whispering to her, her words were so quiet that even we couldn't hear her.

While this was happening the pack had all stepped away from us, and positioned themselves ready, in case they had to transform. Jacob, however, ordered them not too, telling them that we could handle her. He then started yelling at Leah, blaming her for this entire incident.

Now that the vampire was calm I had eased my hold on her. I focused on Leah and what I read in her mind shocked me. I couldn't believe it, out of all the things, never in a million years or never in eternity would I have thought that this could happen. I was stunned beyond belief. Leah was too. She was frozen, staring at the vampire, with different emotions swimming through her eyes. I let out a small gasp.

Jasper looked at me and then followed my line of vision. Judging by his expression, he too knew what I had just discovered. The vampire must have felt mine and Jasper's hold ease, because she struggled again to break free. This was even worse than when we had first met her. On that night, she was fighting for survival, now she was fighting to kill.

"Let's go, we need to get home now!" Yelled Emmett, as he wrapped his arms around the vampire, preventing her from doing any damage to any of them, as well as herself.

"Jacob, get Leah out of here!" Bella yelled, while assisting Emmett.

Embry, Seth and Jared grabbed onto Leah's arms and started running. The rest of the pack followed and then all simultaneously, they had transformed back into wolves and disappeared into the night.

We got the vampire back to our house. Jasper and I sat on the couch, with the vampire sitting in between us, we each held onto one of her arms. Emmett stood at the door, just in case she tried to make a run for it, or worse, go after pack.

Everyone else was surrounding us. Bella was on her knees, in front of the vampire, talking to her, trying to calm her down. It seemed Bella was the only one she listened to, or at least, tried to listen to. While Bella was keeping the vampire occupied, Jasper was talking to me via his thoughts.

'_So it's true, isn't it Edward?'_

I looked at him, nodding at his question.

'_Unbelievable, I didn't even think that was possible. What happened with Jacob was one thing, but this, this is definitely different and un-heard of. Should we tell them?'_

I shook my head and mouthed, 'Later, let's deal with one problem at a time.'

Jasper nodded and then shut his eyes, focusing on the vampire's emotions, trying to keep her calm.

'_I can't do this anymore.' _Said a sad and defeated voice.

I frowned, that wasn't Jasper's voice, nor did it belong to anyone in my family.

I gasped out loud, for the second time tonight, I was shocked speechless. That voice, sounding so broken, sad, defeated and alone belonged to the she-vampire. After that I heard many thoughts cross through her mind, it was like she had awoken from a very long sleep, it was like hearing the thoughts of someone who was dead but has come back to life. Whatever had happened at the clearing had awoken something in the vampire. She wasn't a shield. She was just dead; trapped and locked inside her own subconscious for a very long time. When the thought that I was waiting for crossed her mind, my inner vampire, my animal instinct, told me to release her so that she _could_ go after Leah.

Now I know why she was running, why she was by herself, why her skin was scarred. Why she was so sad.

"Edward, what's wrong?" Asked Bella, interrupting my thoughts.

"I can hear her thoughts. Now I know what happened to her." I said, looking at the vampire in pity and sympathy.

My family gasped and looked at the vampire. This was going to be some night. Good thing vampires don't need to sleep.

* * *

_Jacob's POV – _

We ran as far away as we could, before my curiosity got the better of me and I stopped.

We were not far from La Push, but I had to know now.

'_Leah, what the hell was that?!'_ I yelled, still in wolf form. _'And why did you all of a sudden freeze up?! Do you have some sort of death wish or something?! And why did you have to hurt her feelings in the first place?! She didn't do anything wrong by us! Well? Answer me!'_ I growled.

I was angry, I was frustrated and I was seething. My wolf self wanted to bite her, how dare she!

Then I stopped my ranting, I stopped my anger and my frustration. Because I felt something from Leah that I had only ever experienced once and it wasn't that long ago that I went through the same thing. I froze, shocked and stunned; the rest of the pack did the same. They couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe it.

Leah, in her wolf form, was sitting on the forest floor, her posture and shoulders slouched over, and her expression looked torn, disappointed and sad. There was only one thought crossing though her mind, only one thing occupying her entire conscious. And that was a certain female vampire, with golden eyes and cracked skin; and Leah had just imprinted on her.

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**Hope you like this chapter guys, sorry that its waayyyy late! I've been busy with the holidays, new years and also busy writing a Power Rangers story, if you like Power Rangers, check it out, it's called 'Mini Chibi Ninjas'. **

**I hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Years! **

**Please review! =]**

**Obrigada. **


	7. All Out In The Open, Almost

**Hey guys, here is chapter 7! This is the chapter where our mystery vampire becomes a little...uh...un-mysterious? Lol It sounded wayyy cooler in my head. **

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**Thanks for all of the reviews! I always send a response to my reviewers, but if you don't have an account, I will say thankyou here:**

_**Misty Dee:**__** Thanks for the review! I'm glad you like my interpretation of Leah! And don't worry, she will eventually get the happiness she deserves. Thanks for reading my story, I hope you like this chapter.**_** =]**

_**marc:**__** Cheers! I'm glad you like it so far. I love detailed fics and I enjoy writing this story that way. Hope this chapter doesn't disappoint!**_

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**Disclaimer: This is future slash i.e. femmeslash! If you still get a shock when you figure it out, well...then... there is a reason why I write this in bold. So you have been warned as of chapter 1!**

**Warning: There is a fair bit of swearing in this chapter, used by our very angsty Leah. So don't be shocked if you read it. **

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_Leah's POV – _

I don't know where I ended up. I don't know how long I've been walking around for. All I know is, I don't know where I want to be anymore. I had had a plan. I had a chance to make something different of myself. Now, it's like I moved forward two steps in my life, only to be knocked back by ten.

Everything that once was, now isn't. I had everything sorted in my mind. Everything I had to do, everything I thought about, everything that had to be thought about in a certain way, was all categorised and sorted. Damn.

Now, it feels like someone scrambled up my thoughts, filed certain thoughts under the wrong categories, under the wrong headings. I'm thinking about things I have never thought about before. I'm considering things I have never considered before.

It was almost like being reborn. I can't think the same way, the way Leah is use to. I'm different. How can that be?

I imprinted, I Leah Clearwater, _imprinted._

Why is it that something that should make you feel so complete, something that gives your life a whole other purpose, just leaves you with more questions that you may never find the answers to?

How is it that I can selflessly love the most stunning, most beautiful creature I have ever laid my eyes on and yet not know the reasons why?

I feel like my judgement is being clouded by a stupid, ancient legend. It wasn't fair! Didn't I have the right to _choose_ who I wanted to love?

Didn't I have the right to slowly fall in love with someone? The way I fell in love with Sam? At least that way, I had time to think about things because it was such a slow process.

This, this was worse than being hit by a tonne of bricks, and believe me; I know that sensation quite well.

In the battle between the newborns two years ago, having such a strong vampire running and colliding with you, _was_ like a tonne of bricks being thrown at you. Actually I would pick that feeling and sensation any day over what I'm going through now.

The boys weren't helping either, as usual. Jacob told me to go home and stay safe while my mind was so confused. Sam tried to talk to me; he wanted to know if I was okay. I had ignored him. He was the last person I wanted _anything_ from.

The rest were too shocked to say anything. What _could_ they say? What could they possibly say to help me or make me feel better? I had imprinted on a vampire, a _female_ vampire.

Three words made this entire thing unbelievable. Imprint, Vampire and Female.

I didn't think it was possible for a female werewolf to imprint. I'm built all wrong; I'm not a normal werewolf by_ any_ standards. The fact that I imprinted on a vampire is actually fucking irony. I hate vampires, absolutely hate them.

I despise their existence for one main reason. If it weren't for vampires, I wouldn't be a werewolf, Sam wouldn't be a werewolf, he wouldn't have imprinted on my ex-favourite cousin therefore leaving me heartbroken, making me a mockery of the male pack where the population is one female (me), leaving me infertile, friendless, dad-less, cynical, unhappy and to quote others, an absolute 'bitch'.

Okay, that was many reasons, but they all interconnected. Most people don't stand back and see the bigger picture when it comes to me; which is, that I don't hate vampires for no reason.

Whether they don't think I'm worth the time and effort or not; I don't really care. I try not to think about it. If I went around worrying about what everyone thought of me, I'd be a mess. More than I am now.

Before, I felt lonely in the world, now I feel like I'm alone in the entire universe. The boys have each other to talk about what imprinting is like, to share that kind of experience. Who the hell would I talk to about this? Seth? Please, poor kid has enough to deal with out of this, like finding out his only sister imprinted on a female.

At least if I was a boy, who imprinted on another boy, I could still have something to discuss with my pack, as gender can create a rather large obstacle. But no, I'm a rare and un-heard of _female_ werewolf who has _imprinted_ on a _female vampire_.

This brings me to the third word – female. Since when was I gay? Since when did I like women over men? What the hell is up with that? I have never noticed other girls before. I knew I always liked boys, it wasn't something I even had to think about – ever. I have never, not once found girls attractive.

So why does this one seem to be the centre of my universe? Why is she now my everything? What does that then make me? Gay, lesbian, bi-sexual? For some reason, I didn't like those words. The sound of them or the fact that maybe, from now on, I will have to use them to describe me, made me sick.

I don't know why. I'm not a homophobe, I have a cousin in Washington who is gay, and when he told me, it didn't bother me at all. So why does it sicken me to describe myself in that way?

It's like my life is some sort of sick joke. 'Let's fuck around with Leah until she snaps' – that kind of sick joke. A woman, a female vampire! A beautiful, female vampire...no! I can't think about her! Every time I do, my legs just want to turn around, run back to the Cullen house and hold her in my arms.

That want alone really confused me to no end. This was the worst thing about this extremely terrible situation. Why do I feel like this? How can I possible feel like this? Is it magic? The same magic that has us turning into wolves whenever we want?

Is it because I was going to maybe run away, or fall into a state of depression that whoever was controlling the universe decided 'shit, Leah's leaving her pack, we can't have that! I know, let's give her a 'soul mate', that will keep her here.'

I could ignore the fact that I had imprinted. But what would be the point in that? And it would make me look like an even bigger fool.

The whole pack knew about it, and I bet everything I own that the mind reader leech knew about it; which means both the wolves and vampires of Forks and La Push have me as their comic relief, the laughing stock.

I sat down on a fallen tree, which was now covered in moss. I was in human form, like I was going to stay in wolf form so that the pack could hear my suffering and confusion.

I brought my legs up to my body, wrapped my arms around them and buried my face against my knees. And I cried. For the first time since dad died, I really cried, and I was alone.

* * *

_Emmett's POV - _

I couldn't believe it, Edward finally heard her. Well about bloody time! Guess having a power isn't always useful. Edward was just staring at her and the vampire was staring straight back. I think Edward was reading everything that was going through her head; trying to get the bigger picture, or the whole story, before he filled us in.

Bella was holding the vamp's hand, comforting her. Jasper was still working overtime on keeping her calm, you could always tell with Jasper. If he was trying too hard he always scrunched up his face into a funny expression. Well I find it funny, Alice thinks it's sexy. I shuddered at that thought, some chicks are just weird.

Carlisle walked up to the vampire and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I think that maybe it is time you told us what happened to you." He said in the kindest fatherly voice possible.

Oh yeah! This was definitely going to be an interesting night!

The vampire looked up at Carlisle and nodded in agreement. Edward's face was very sad and sympathetic. Whatever she has gone through must be bad.

"If that is the case, I will speak for her, she's isn't ready to talk yet." Edward said to everybody.

"Oh, so you're not a mute or anything? You just don't want to talk?" I asked. "Ow! The hell, Alice?!"

"Don't be rude!" Alice said. I frowned at her and rubbed my arm, damn little pixie had a very mean punch.

We all sat down, around Edward, Jasper, Bella and the vampire; as if surrounding a story teller. I sat next to my Rose, who still had the little Loch Ness in her arms. I put my arm around her waist as she rested her head on my shoulder.

Nessie put her hand on my arm and showed me Jacob as he was running away with the pack, from the vampire, an event that happened not half an hour ago.

"He's at home Ness, he will be alright." I said, not even bothering to whisper as I gave her a re-assuring grin. Being a house full of vampires, everyone would've heard me anyway.

The fam still whispered when the situation called for it, but most of the time, I don't bother. Edward said it was because I have no tact. Pfft, what does he know? Ness seemed content with my answer; she then turned her head and focused on the vampire.

The vampire took a deep breath, as if mentally preparing herself, Edward faced us all and started to speak.

"What would you like to know first?" He asked.

"What had happened to you on the night that we found you?" Asked Carlisle.

The vampire bit her lip, looking at Edward as he started speaking her thoughts.

"She was attacked, by a pack of werewolves. They chased her here, in this direction. Then the forest animals helped her to lose them in the storm...."

"Wait a minute!" Rosalie interrupted, "What do you mean, the animals helped you? How did you even get an animal to come near you, let alone understand your orders and help you avoid wolves?"She asked curiously. I could tell she was also a little annoyed, as if the vampire was lying or something.

"She can communicate with animals. That's her power. She got birds to use the skies, spying on the wolves, so that they could warn her when they were close and the forest animals told her about Forks, so she travelled in this direction." Edward said.

"Cool, is that why you can imitate lion roars and all that so well?" I asked.

The vampire and Edward nodded at me.

"Impressive." I said, for some reason Rosalie subtly scratched me. She gave me a glare, like she was jealous. I simply pulled her head towards me and kissed her on the forehead. She tried not to smile at my gesture, but she failed, what can I say? I'm quite the charmer.

"It is indeed a very unique and interesting power." Carlisle said, agreeing with my approval.

"Why were wolves following you in the first place?" Esme asked gently.

The vampire shrugged and looked down.

"She doesn't know what they want from her, but those wolves have been tracking her since 1938."

"Why that long?" Asked Alice gently.

"Because that was the year she was turned." Edward said, vaguely.

"Huh?" I asked, now I was getting confused, and believe me, it took a lot to get me confused. Just because I act like an idiot, doesn't mean I am one.

"This is where the story becomes long. She basically followed a man to a cave, who happened to be a vampire, he changed her, she killed him out of anger, then went back to her village to feed off her family. When she arrived at her house, she smelt spilt blood. Her entire family were massacred. Before she had time to react, those wolves appeared. There was a big fight, she managed to get away from them, and has been on the run from them ever since." Edward said.

So that's why Leah's words had affected her. Leah had unknowingly brought up a sensitive topic.

"Is that why you tried to attack Leah? Because of what happened to your family?" Bella asked gently.

The vampire nodded at Bella and looked down. If Jasper wasn't here, I'm pretty sure the vamp would have thrown another fit at the mention of Leah.

"Why did you want to kill your family?" Alice asked, causing everyone to stare at her. She frowned, "What?"

"Don't you remember what it was like being a newborn, Alice?" Rose asked, "You don't care who you kill, you just want to feed."

"No, I know that, but why her family in particular? You said you lived in a village? Well why not just kill the closest people to the cave?"

"She lived on the outskirts of the village; the cave was a few miles away from her house. So they _were_ the closest to her. Also, when she remembered that she had a family, she wanted her first feed to be them."

"Interesting." Carlisle said, though with sympathy. "Some animal species do a similar thing; they eat their offspring or their parents."

"I don't understand; why would the wolves be following you in the first place?" Esme asked. "72 years spent on one vampire is a long time."

"She doesn't know. She suspects that the wolves think that she killed her family, not another vampire." Edward said.

"So it was another vampire? It is still very suss to me. The werewolves can track by scent. If another vampire killed your family, they could tell by smelling you that it wasn't you. But I guess you did have red eyes at the time." Alice contemplated.

The vampire looked up at Alice's words.

Edward frowned, "She didn't know that about the werewolves. Now she is even more confused about them."

"Well, whatever the case is, you are more than welcome to stay here for as long as you like." Carlisle said.

The vampire nodded and gave Carlisle the faintest hint of a smile.

"She'd like that but, what if the werewolves come here?" Edward asked, and by the looks of him it was out of his curiosity as well as hers. "She doesn't want to bring trouble onto our family."

I snorted, "You don't need to worry about that! Bells here has already brought so much trouble to the family that no one in all eternity would manage to top her!" I said happily.

Edward and Bella growled at me, oh yeah! I know what buttons to push to piss Bella off! And I enjoy doing it! She's like the little sister I've never had.

The vampire frowned and stole a glance at Bella.

"Long story, I will tell you about it one day." Bella said, answering the vampire's questioning stare.

"Well, now that we have a few things sorted out this evening, would you like to go upstairs and rest?" Esme asked, causing nearly everyone to frown at her choice of words. Pfft, 'rest', since when do vampires need that?

"Rest, mentally." Esme added, diffusing the confusion. "Though she _does_ sleep, so my sentence was not incorrect." She said, looking back at us.

"Oh yeah, about that, how is it that you can sleep?" I asked, yeesh, and my family call themselves vampires. They are more like jellyfish, no backbone and made of, uh, that jelly stuff that jellyfish are made of. You know, it's all squidgy and stuff.

Edward rolled his eyes and shook his head at me. As if saying, 'squidgy is not a word', well it is now Eddykins! Edward lifted his nostrils in disgust at the nickname and chose to ignore me.

Anyway, it wouldn't hurt for them to ask questions that they are afraid will hurt vampy girl's feelings. Again, it's probably why I'm referred to as having no tact.

Edward turned towards the vampire, as if asking for her approval then he gave me a look before answering, "It's not really sleeping, as such, it's more like closing her eyes and using her imagination and memories. They help her to get away from her life and remember her family. She has been doing it for so long that the sensation itself is like sleep, because you become carried away in your own head that by the time you open your eyes, many hours have past."

Huh, interesting, I wonder if I could try it? Nuh, Rosalie wouldn't want me doing it anyway, not when, uh, we could be doing other stuff. And what kind of a mate would I be to deny my Rose what she wants?

Weird vampire chick though, I mean, I first thought Bella was weird, with her wanting to be a vampire and all. But I instantly got over it, Bell's is cool. But this vamp, damn, talk about issues.

Not saying it's her fault, I mean poor thing and everything, but, hey, wait a minute! What about her scratches?

"Okay, last question! Why can't y-..." Edward gave me this look, his 'I will tear off your limbs and sit on them so you don't heal if you speak' look. I shut my mouth, not because I was scared. Of Edward? Huh! That's laughable; I could kick his scrawny ass any day!

It was the fact that I have a conscious and Edward was warning me to shut it, because I will really hurt vamp girl's feelings. I hardly knew her but I didn't want her to cry or anything. Not that she could, literally, because she's a vamp and... oh never mind.

"Uh, never mind I saw a bee." I finished lamely. I mentally slapped my head, a bee? Yeah, great cover up, Em!

Well, me being me, I have the reputation of acting like an airhead, my family all rolled their eyes at my behaviour and ignored me.

"Come on." Bella said, standing up and offering her hand to the vampire, "I will walk you to your room."

The vampire stood up and have Edward a look which must've meant, 'thanks dude, for speaking my thoughts, I had a ball.'

Nuh, probably just meant 'thankyou'.

"Have a good 'mental rest'." I said, trying to lighten the mood and poke fun at Esme at the same time.

Everyone snorted, the vampire looked at me with humour in her eyes and Esme shook her head and muttered, "I might have to ground him."

Oh hell no, I wasn't getting grounded!

"See you in the morning! Maybe we can show you the obstacle course I built?" I said trying to get back into Esme's good graces. Also, this vamp would be fun to hang out with. Eternity is long; we gotta make as many friends as we can.

Wait a minute, I can't keep referring to this chick as vamp or vampy, "Hey, wait. Last question?" I asked hopefully.

The vampire and Bella were halfway up the stairs, the vampire nodded in confirmation.

"What's your name?"

This stopped the rest of my fam in their tracks. Dumb bums, didn't even think to ask the poor, nice and slightly needs psychiatric help vampire what her name was.

The vampire looked over at Edward, waiting for him to answer.

"Crista. Her name is Crista."

* * *

_Bella's POV – _

Having Edward and Nessie to go home to after a day like today, makes all the bad worth it. I kissed my daughter on the forehead as she drifted off to sleep. I almost envied her.

Sometimes I miss sleep. But then I remember that when I was human, I hated sleeping because it took me away from Edward. It also left you vulnerable. Not having to sleep keeps you on guard 24/7. And I loved it.

I didn't like waking up, knowing that there was a chance that Edward wouldn't be sitting beside me; or that some other vampire was waiting to kill me.

That's what I had hated most about being human, besides not being able to give myself completely to Edward; I was a nuisance to look after. I felt like one. I felt like a small child. At least now, I can protect the ones I love.

I walked up to Edward, who was standing by the window, looking out at the moon. I put my arms around him and kissed him on the cheek.

"Are you okay?" I asked him, he has been a little off since we got here.

He didn't answer straight away and when he did it was a sigh. Edward had different sighs for different feelings. This sigh, which was long and quiet, meant he wasn't alright.

"Is it about what happened to Crista?"

He nodded, turned around in my arms and kissed my forehead.

"There is so much more to her than meets the eye, Bella. She has gone through so much. When I was talking earlier, I had sugar coated everything she had suffered, everything she had been through. It was nearly too much for her to have someone else talk about her life.

Jasper had to keep her calm the entire time. If I wasn't completely vague when explaining her life, God knows what she would've done."

"What is going to happen with the pack?" I asked. "Are we going to have to keep them away from here for a while?"

"Funny that you mention that." Edward said, with a look on his face that I couldn't decipher. "The pack can come by and visit whenever they like, she doesn't have a problem with them. But Leah would have to stay away for a while, though she will find it hard to."

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused. "Leah hates us. Nothing would satisfy her more than if she never had to see us again...wait, what aren't you telling me?"

"It seems that fate has made some interesting decisions concerning Leah's destiny." Edward said, almost smugly.

"Edwaaard!" I said, elongating his name, it made me sound like a child but I didn't care. "Tell me! You're going to make me guess aren't you?"

Edward smiled and gave me a chaste kiss; he then pulled back, breaking it too early for my liking.

"Leah has imprinted on a vampire." He whispered.

I heard more than felt my jaw drop. WHAT?! On a vampire?!

"Leah and a vampire?! Who? Who is he? There aren't any free vampires though, everyone has a mate! That's going to cause problems." I said very quickly, I couldn't believe this!

"No love, not _he_, it's a _she_. And she doesn't have a mate, well not yet."

"She imprinted on a female vampire? Is that even possible?" I asked, then it dawned on me. Oh snap! "She imprinted on Crista?! Wow. I feel sorry for her. For Leah, I mean. That's got to be a lot to deal with. How can you go from being one type of person to another? She hates vampires, now, ironically, she has imprinted and fallen in love with one!"

"I know. It is a lot to take in. I just hope Leah is going to be okay with it."

"Me too. Are you going to tell Crista?"

Edward shook his head. "No, not yet. I am still contemplating on whether to tell Crista or leave it up to Leah to tell Crista."

"What makes you think that she will tell her?"

"I felt how strong it was once before. Imprinting. It was like the day I realised I had fallen in love with you. It's such a powerful feeling. It hits you all at once, it numbs your senses and you don't think straight. That's how Jacob felt when he saw Nessie and that's what I felt again when Leah looked at Crista for the first time. She won't be able to stay away from her for long."

"How so?" I asked.

"She will literally feel sick if she doesn't even catch a glimpse of Crista for long. She needs to be around her, smell her scent, hear her voice. She has to live and breathe Crista. Yet, Leah's stubbornness won't see it until she cannot even stand avoiding Crista anymore."

"Wow." I said, under my breath.

"I'm a little worried though." Edward said with a frown on his face.

"Worried?"

"Yes, whoever is tracking Crista won't stop until they have her. I'm wondering why they bothered to track her for so long. It's making me think whether their attack on her is more personal than we think."

"But she didn't do anything to them."

"Nothing that she knows about, maybe she did something indirectly, that had a negative outcome on them."

"Yes, but even then, Edward, it still sounds very strange, like we aren't seeing the bigger picture."

"You think there is one?"

I nodded, "Yes, I do."

"So do I." Edward's face suddenly grew a pained expression. "Love? Don't you feel that we have been too lucky? Our family has been through so much. What if one day we face something that we aren't strong enough to face?"

"Where is this coming from?" I asked, worried.

"A feeling. I'm not trying to be a pessimist. I'm just trying to consider all possibilities."

"Well, Edward, I have this feeling, this feeling that our family can deal with anything, no matter what. We have taken on the Volturi. It cannot get any worse than that." I said reassuringly.

Edward smiled at my words, as if taking into account that his worries were a little farfetched, considering the Volturi were the worst enemy we had and the most powerful that existed.

I put my arms around my husband. I didn't want him to be feeling this; this sense of doubt. I always say to myself that if we could handle the Volturi, then we can handle anything.

* * *

_Somewhere in Canada - _

A small growl could be heard in the darkness of the chamber, the vampire opened its eyes to reveal the blood red irises that were hidden under the lids.

"I give you two weeks and this is how you repay me?!"

"_It's not our fault. We lost her in the forest."_

"Idiots! You're wolves! What kind of dogs are you, if you cannot track someone?"

"_We had her for a while, we hurt her pretty bad, she somehow out ran us and we lost track of her scent."_

"Find her! You get one more chance! You disappoint me; you know what the punishment will be."

"_Yes sir." _ The wolf gave a small bow to the vampire, before howling, calling for its' pack.

The wolf ran out of the chamber, with a large group of bear sized wolves following close behind.

"_What did he say?"_ The one closest to the wolf leader asked.

"_He said that we have to find her."_

"_Where do we start?"_

"_We lost her in Washington, so that's where we start to look."_

Back in the chamber, a female vampire appeared behind the male. She placed her hand on his shoulder, "What's so special about this one?"

"Her power. She has an extremely rare power that I need. I could conjure it myself, but it wouldn't last. If I had her, I could make it permanent."

"Talking to animals?" His mate mocked. "What's so special about that?"

"It's not all she can do, my dear."

"Is that so?"

"Yes and the best part is, is that she isn't even aware of it. Her powers are only at a fifty percent stage, she has yet to reach her full potential."

"What would help her reach her full potential?"

"Could be anything, only time will tell. All I am certain of is that when she has reached her full potential, I will be there to take over."

* * *

**Hope this chapter was okay. Sorry if it was short, confusing, weird, or whatever! And sorry it took forever to update! This story is my major challenge fic. I want it to feel right when I write it. You should see how much I edit the damn thing. **

**P.S OMG! I saw AVATAR a few days ago! Can I just say here, that I was completely blown away! I haven't experienced such an emotional feeling from a movie in a long time! Well done to James Cameron who brought us Titanic, Dark Angel and now Avatar! He is the God of imagination!**

**Anyways, please leave a review! They help me improve! **

**Obrigada!**


	8. Dazed and Confused

**Hi fellow readers! Thanks for your awesome reviews! You guys make me feel special!! Hope you like this chapter. ALSO!! – I'm soo sorry this took long to update! I started Uni a few months ago, my second year, and I'm up to my neck in assignments and readings that I could drown in them, literally, I will try and update more often, yet I don't want to write when I don't feel my muse otherwise the chapter won't feel right to me and it would probably come out crappy. **

**Also, I'm having summary problems with my fic. I have changed my summary three times already. Here is the latest one I have for the fic. Let me know if it's okay. Obrigada =]**

**SUMMARY****: **_**Leah stays in Forks, trying to re-build her life. Just as she grasps a level of normalcy, she imprints, causing her life to spiral out of control as her imprintee brings with them a whole new level of trouble. Can love overcome prejudice and differences?**_

_**Disclaimer: This is slash, if you haven't worked that out by now, well then you're in denial, as this story WILL have a slashy ending!! Gneggneggneg =D**_

* * *

"_**Been dazed and confused for so long it's not true, wanted a woman, never bargained for you." **_**Led Zeppelin.**

* * *

_Leah's POV - _

This time of the day shouldn't exist as far as I'm concerned. Damn the sunlight. It always has to find a way to get through your curtain-drawn window and remind you how bright it is. Plus it doesn't help when you wake up with a headache. Ugh, I need aspirin.

I pulled the covers back over my head after making sure that the glowing beam of sunlight, that was trying to keep me from the peace that is my dreams, was back outside where it belonged. I should get bigger curtains.

If there was one thing I like about myself, it was the type of dreams I had. Many people dream about their problems, their fears. Sleeping is a way to escape your world and give your brain a rest from the pathetic and sad existence that is our lives. Until we dream. Because I am pretty sure our dreams are against us. They show and tell you everything you would rather not see and hear. They don't want you to escape. They want you to deal with your problems.

Well lucky for me, my style of dreams are different. There are few of us amongst you that never dream about their issues. Never have nightmares about what is hurting us the most.

I had one last night, a peaceful dream, again. It's like my dreams are the only thing in my life that I can rely on. Heck, I can't even rely on myself.

I had a dream that I was in wolf form, but it was all I was. I wasn't Leah, I wasn't human. I was an animal, no thoughts to worry me, just prime instinct to act on. And I had a family. I was the leader of the pack. I had a mate and six cubs to look after. It was so peaceful.

All I had to worry about was keeping them safe. It was a dream about someone else's problems, someone else's responsibilities, not my own. And I loved it.

* * *

_Edward's POV – _

Hunting. Such a simple word. Yet, a complex act. It takes a lot to hunt. To let your instinct over take you. To concentrate and trust yourself. Animals could do it easily. Humans struggled because they have fear holding them back. Vampires – well, it is a lot easier for us than humans.

Our way of life is animalistic. We run on animal behaviour. We are as strong like tigers, we are leaders like lions, we are as stealthy as snakes, have eyes like eagles and we mate for life, just like wolves. Plus, we have nothing to fear. Nothing can overpower us...well... almost nothing.

My eyes quickly glanced over at Jacob, who was in wolf form, running around and playing with Seth in the fields. I shook my head and refocused my eyes back on Crista.

We are animalistic, to say the least, yet in all my years, I have never seen a vampire hunt the way she does. Normal vegetarian vampires hunt with the urge to win, to take control and to overpower our prey. Crista, she hunted differently. She hunted animals with a certain _respect_, if I could even call it that. It was like she was one with the animals.

Animals are meant to be afraid of us, they are meant to take us as a danger. It's in their instinct to do so and in our make to initiate that instinct. Yet, animals do not avoid Crista. They are drawn to her. As if she is one of their own. No matter which animal it is, they all react the same way. No fear, no caution, just recognition and utter _trust_.

Crista approaches animals without slowing her pace, without caution or stealth. She walks up to them at normal walking vampire pace. She pats them on the head. Stroking their ears or running her hands along the necks of the elk. Then she bites, with the same strength and hunger that the rest of us possess in that moment of weakness, when our inner 'demon' takes us over. When we succumb to our instinct while we feed.

Yet, it's different. She's different. The animal struggles, yet the look in its eye, it's as if it understands why she must feed on them. It's almost a mutual understanding between predator and prey that shouldn't exist.

And it was one of the most remarkable things I have ever witnessed.

* * *

_Leah's POV - _

Sitting at the breakfast table was a little awkward. Only because Mr. Swan was here, and he knows I don't like his daughter, that blood sucker. Yet he acted in-different towards me, like it didn't matter. I don't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. And I hated to admit it, but he was a good guy to talk to.

Well, so I've been told. I have heard his conversations before. He speaks very well. He's not an idiot, or ignorant. Pfft, I wonder where Bella went wrong. If she was more like her father then she would've wised up, ditched the leech and have chosen Jake. I prefer contemplating on other people's problems, helps me forget my own.

"Why are you so quiet, Leah?"

Yet, of course, until someone reminds me I'm being anti-social.

I coughed to clear my throat before I spoke, I hated sounding husky.

"Just tired mum." I answered. It was vague, but what did she want? She's lucky I answered her. Now don't get me wrong, I love my mother. It's just that...I don't know...I don't feel that we understand each other very well. Not like dad and I use to. Plus, mum and I, we just...clash.

"Okay, you just don't seem like yourself."

Way to publicise it mum.

"...I'm fine."

I wish I could talk to mum about this. But to tell you the truth, I'm embarrassed. And scared. Embarrassed, because now I have a reason for her to reject me as her daughter. I've never felt like that before. Sure when I became the supposedly first female werewolf, I could have been a reason of rejection then. But being a werewolf is a noble thing. Mum was proud, dad....well he got too shocked for his own good. Though, I'd like to think that he was proud of me.

Sometimes, they say they love you, so you feel like you can tell them anything and that they will love you anyway because, well, because they love you. Then that fear of doubt takes over and it's so strong that you back away and hide in your shell, where no one can judge or hurt you.

Plus, how can I possibly make someone understand what I'm going through when they have never been through it themselves.

I sighed and banged my forehead onto the table. I give up. If anyone could just give me the answer to the universe and my very existence that would be great. Anybody. Anyone at all. I could pay you.

No Leah, life is not going to go easy on you now.

I got up from my place at the table and walked out of the house. I heard mum call after me, but I ignored her. Sorry mum, I just can't, not now.

I'm such a useless and empty shell. Why did I have to be the one who imprinted? At least, if someone had imprinted on me it would've made my life easier.

I wouldn't be the one thinking about it, I would have had to put in minimal effort, because someone loved me without me having to do anything for them to love me in the first place.

But no, I'm the one who has to have her self-identity slap her in the face. Now I've got to figure out what makes me tick. I have to figure out... everything. I feel myself slipping away. I feel that the old Leah, who I was so close to bringing back, is finally dying.

I don't want this new Leah. I don't want someone foreign, because I can't trust them. I can't trust my feelings, my actions, my reactions to certain things.

It's like making a new friend. You have to go through every emotional stage with them for you to fully interpret what kind of a person they are.

Well, I now have to do that with myself. Worst thing is I can't reject myself if I don't like what I see. I'm stuck, with me, with the Leah who imprinted on a female vampire. With this new me. This new person that I am. I feel myself growing, moving on and it's scary.

Oh God, I'm like that...leech... Bella. I shuddered at that thought. Now, for the first time in my life, I can see why Bella found the leeches so appealing. Well... why she found Edward so appealing.

Because now, I'm having certain thoughts on the most gorgeous creature that can possibly exist, on my soul mate – Crista.

And now, for the first time in a long time, my desire to speak to my old friends was tempting me more than ever. I needed a friend's help; I just don't know where to look. Plus this headache wasn't helping either.

* * *

_Edward's POV - _

"Okay, so let me get this straight, just so I know that we are on the same level here, and that I'm not crazy, just you are." I said, pinching the bridge of my nose, for the hundredth time the past few weeks. I don't know why Emmett comes to me with these 'bright' ideas of his, I'm not the father figure in the family, Carlisle is. Therefore Carlisle should be the one losing his patience right now, not me.

"Okay." Emmet said eagerly.

"You, want us, all of us, to go on a road trip to New York City, 'gate crash' a concert to go and see the band..."

"Linkin Park."

"Right, to go and see 'Linkin Park', to which you have no tickets in the first place, and make it to the mosh pit, when we are going to have to fight tooth and nail, therefore injuring many humans to get to it, because according to you all of the 'hardcore' fans do not let anyone near the mosh pit once the band has started playing, because no one who managed to reach the front of the stage in the first place wants to be left on the sidelines when late comers dare try and take their front stage view."

"Yeah!"

"Oh and right, you want to take Crista with us as well, who has never been to a concert to begin with, who has had little contact with human beings, so that she can stand for three hours neck deep in delicious smelling human beings, who will be excited, jumping around, yelling and singing which will therefore be making their heart rates go haywire thus making them even more tantalising than they already are. That about sums it up?"

"Uhhh...yeah...that sounds about right...oh! You forgot that AC/DC will be in town, so we have got to go and see them too!"

"Right of course, then after the extremely risky concert, if we are not exposed by then, we are also going to 'gate crash' AC/DC."

"Yep, now you've got everything."

"Emmett, during which aspect of your life did you lose all rationality and common sense?"

"Uh, that would've been when I met Rosalie."

"Thought so."

Rose growled at me, before going back to styling her hair.

"So you think it's a bad idea?" Emmett asked, looking crest fallen.

"Not only do I think it's a bad idea, it's one of the dumbest things you have suggested this year, aside from the whole obstacle course thing."

"Hey! Without that, we wouldn't have met Crista here!" Emmett said, placing his arm around her shoulders and giving her a one armed hug.

I mentally winced, only Emmett would break Crista's personal space and hug her when she has had years without any physical affection from anyone. Though I know Bella had hugged her when she broke down, but that was different, Crista had had a moment of weakness.

If only the idiot could read my thoughts, he would be hearing a colourful selection of curse words being thrown at him.

Seth, Jacob, Alice, Jasper, Bella, Rosalie and Nessie froze, waiting for a reaction from Crista. I glanced at her face, and was surprised by what I saw.

Though she seemed a little uncomfortable at the foreign physical affection, she raised her eyebrow, and patted Emmett's hand once and then looked away. Translated, she basically said in that simple act 'thank you for the hug, now you can let go.'

Emmett actually understood and stepped back, but not before chuckling and ruffling her hair. Crista hissed at him for messing her hair and Emmett laughed at her. This caused Crista's upper lip to curl almost into a smile.

What a surprise, who would've thought that the extrovert Emmett would get along well with the introvert Crista, I guess opposites _do_ attract.

Thinking back on Crista's reaction to the hug, for a brief second I could've sworn that she had leaned into the touch. I mentally winced again. The poor thing was probably craving for someone to show her affection like that, yet at the same time on guard at anyone who did. I made a note to ask Bella and Emmett later to hug her more often so that she could get use to it.

"So Edwardigens! What do you think about New York City?" Emmett asked me.

I grimaced in disgust at the nickname, like Eddy or Ed wasn't bad enough.

"Though I am disgusted with the prospect of such a risky plan, I will pass the idea by Carlisle and see what he thinks." I also have to ask Alice to check into the future and make sure that nothing bad will happen. Then I had to ask Crista if she wanted to go or if she wanted to stay here with Carlisle and Esme.

"Ahh! Awesome! Hey Crista, come here, I want to show you a game that you might like." Emmett said, taking Crista's hand and pulling her toward the flat screen T.V. Emmett opened the DVD cabinet and pulled out...oh God... what is he thinking?

"Burnout Paradise on Play Station 3? Awesome!! Is it any good?" Seth asked, looking at the cover.

"Oh yeah! So what do you think Crista? You wanna play?" Emmett asked, batting his eyelashes, idiot, as if he thinks that works in getting people to say yes to you.

'_What does it involve?'_ Crista's thoughts asked me, as she quickly glanced my way.

"You have access to an entire city and you get to race cars." I answered.

"Oh come on Ed! It's way better than that!" Jacob said, picking up a control and giving it to Crista. "If you like cars, speeding and freedom, Crista, then you will love this game."

Crista took the control and sat beside Emmett as he set up a level for her to play. Poor thing doesn't know what she is getting herself into, immature boys and their hyperactivity.

While Crista, Emmett and Seth were occupied with the game, Jacob glanced my way.

'_When do you think we should tell her about Leah?'_ I heard in his thoughts.

I shrugged.

'_She deserves to know, Edward, we can't keep it a secret forever. And Leah, you can't possibly imagine what she is going through. She won't be able to stay away from Crista for long. If she one day rocks up on your doorstep looking for Crista, well let's just say Crista will get on hell of a surprise. Its better she hears it from you or Carlisle, you can explain it to her, get her...I don't know, psychologically ready for it.'_

I frowned at him. What if Crista didn't want anything to do with Leah? Jacob seemed to get what I was thinking and grinned.

'_Edward, she will love Leah back. She won't get forced into it. Leah is her soul mate. Crista will eventually fall in love with Leah, like Leah already has for Crista.'_

If you say so Jake.

* * *

Leah's POV –

You know what? This sucks. I have been pacing this same spot for the last hour, thinking, contemplating...and I've come to one simple conclusion. This sucks.

I was standing in the forest, with Malila's house in view. I could see her. Sitting at her desk in her bedroom. She was drawing. I could tell, because I always remembered the expression Malila had on her face when she would draw one of her sketches.

She would bite her bottom lip, keeping her teeth there the entire time. A frown would form on her face as she concentrated on her drawings. Occasionally she would pause, twirl her long hair around her fingers and then continue. Like clockwork. I pointed it out to her once, that she had her own little ritual for drawing, she just laughed at me, denied it and threw a pillow at my face.

And not two seconds later she had repeated said ritual. It's funny the things we don't notice that we do subconsciously, that it takes someone else to point it out for you.

Malila loved art. She was good at it. I envied her for it. Malila was able to express herself in ways which I couldn't. I loved watching her draw. She could create the most beautiful, unique and imaginative drawings you would ever see. Malila could express everything that she was through a simple drawing.

And that said a lot, considering that many people find it hard to describe themselves when asked to, yet a simple drawing can evoke words and feelings within somebody. Evoke a certain feeling that can make you understand the artist and what they are thinking.

I wish I could define myself in such a simple way. Yet I obtained all the recessive genes in the family. So there isn't much to me at all, except that I'm a female werewolf. Problem with that is, you can't boast about it and show it off at social gatherings. Being a werewolf meant secrecy. It's a brotherhood, one which I am unfortunately bound to.

Why am I here again? Oh yeah, to try and talk to my ex-best friend, who probably doesn't want anything to do with me. I let out a very long breath to calm myself. I was restless, agitated and anxious. Why? Well, it wasn't like my last confrontation with Malila went so well.

I turned around, slowly walking away from a house I haven't stepped foot in, in years. I am fed up with my indecisiveness. If I don't have the guts to do it now, then I never will. Yet, I don't want to be rejected by her. What could Malila offer me anyway? What could she do for me? Nothing.

She wouldn't want to help me, she won't feel sorry for me either. I just wanted to talk to her because...because I know this is something she has been through before.

You see, Malila was a lesbian.

* * *

_Narrator's POV - _

As Crista climbed, she felt all her troubles leave her, far below, 100 feet below, on the forest floor. The bark of the trees crumbled in her hands as she gripped the trunk, yet not a twig moved as she stealthily made her way to the top of the tree.

Peaceful, serene, free. It was always like that up here. High above, where no one could see you, where you couldn't see them. Crista loved the forests, she loved nature and she loved animals. Animals survived off of prime instinct. No guilt, no second guessing, no conscious. If only Crista could be that way. Of only she could simply not give a damn about her past.

Easier said than done. You can't run away from your past. Unfortunately.

The good thing about being on your own was that you could act any damn way you pleased without having to consider other people's feelings. Crista was fond of the Cullen's, don't get her wrong. Yet, they simply couldn't see or understand that she would rather be alone, live on her own, die alone.

It was easier that way.

At the moment, the Cullen youth and the young wolves were entertaining themselves over a video game. She needed to get away from them. She felt overcrowded at times. On a few occasions it had been easier, on others it hadn't. Like Emmett hugging her. The last person who had hugged her when she hadn't been vulnerable, Bella didn't count, was her mother. Who was over 70 years long gone.

But that was one wound that Crista couldn't think about, she ignored it, only in her dreams did she think of her family, only in her dreams did she re-live those ephemeral moments from so long ago.

She personally didn't mind the act of the hug that Emmett had given her, and didn't mind Emmett either. It was just that, if she hadn't calmed herself down in time, everyone would have seen her discomfort and she would have ripped Emmett's arm off as a reflex response.

She was too much of an animal herself for her own good. Sometimes animals can be tamed, sometimes they can't. Many animals cannot forget the way they were made. Crista couldn't either. She was made through an act of blood-lust and violence. The act of taking away a life. Murder. Crista felt as if she had been murdered on that fateful night, as she never again got to be the Crista that her parent's raised her to be. She was someone else now.

Crista sat there, on the tallest branch of the tree, head resting against the trunk, eyes looking far down, in the distance, at the small town of Fork's. Crista was content up here. She could let down her guard and relax, without having to look over her shoulder, expecting to see wolves ready to tear her apart.

Just as she closed her eyes to enjoy the peaceful time she had for herself, a flash of a memory played behind her eyelids. Crista opened her eyes in an instant and without hesitation she stood up and jumped off the tree, falling from 100 feet in the air. She landed in a crouch on the forest floor and started running.

The flash that she had was one of a very old memory. A memory of five people that she had loved and lost. A memory of her family. Yet this memory wasn't one of her own. It wasn't one that she was present for. It was through someone else's eyes. Through the eyes of the vampire who sired her. Someone had sent her this memory.

As Crista leaped over a boulder, she changed course as another flash of a memory was sent to her, this time of a very well known American building.

She cleared her conscious; she cleared any traces of human thought as her mind became animalistic, as she mentally prepared herself for battle.

Crista knew where she had to go. Her last humane thought was whether or not she would come back alive, and if she would ever see the Cullens again. Yet her animal side pushed that thought far away from her mind, as her instinct and desire for revenge overcame her.

Crista kept running, without a second thought, without any questioning of herself and her actions, she ran, towards the direction of Washington D.C, where she knew that someone was waiting for her.

* * *

_Leah's POV – _

I was still here, believe it or not. I was sitting on the forest floor, leaning against a tree. Thinking. That's all I was doing. Just thinking about my past, about Malila, my other friend's, the stupid things we got up to in high school, the pranks we pulled on the people we disliked, the dangerous acts we did to stand up the boys (Malila practically invented the idea of cliff diving).

The all around crazy, hormonal, teenage behaviour that we all look back on fondly with a grin on our faces and a shake of our heads.

I felt the corners of my mouth turn up in an attempt to grin. I pushed them back down with force. I couldn't even remember the last time I smiled.

My memory flashed again to last night. It had been doing that all day. Involuntarily. I'm trying not to think about _her_. I can't think about her. Not at all. Not yet. Yet? Why am I even contemplating the possibility of starting any kind of relationship with her.

'_You already have a hate relationship, if that counts.'_

I froze at that thought. My conscious always got the better of me.

Oh God. My brain had somehow failed to register the fact that she hates me. I could feel tears rise to the surface, threatening to spill from my eyes.

"How can you possibly love her, you idiot! You don't even know anything about her!" I said to myself, out loud. I knocked my head back against the tree trunk and looked up into the sky.

That did it, the tears broke free. And for the second time this week, I found myself crying over the same issue, over the same vampire.

'_Well done Leah, now you can add to the list of people who think you are a complete bitch. That's just one extra person who hates you now. And unfortunately you love her.'_

That was a new feeling. I have never had someone I love hate me. Sam didn't hate me, he felt sorry for me. He still loved me, yet in a completely different kind of way.

I could feel it whenever we are in wolf form. He represses it most of the time, but sometimes he glances at me and I can feel that he is sorry for what happened between us. I always ignore it though. It's a lot easier hating than forgiving.

Emily still loved me. Though it was awkward with Sam around, she still spoke to me whenever we came across each other's path. Of course she still loves me. I have done nothing to her for her to hate me. It was the other way round.

"Could you be anymore pathetic?"

"No." I answered back, then freezing when I realised that the question didn't come from me, but from somewhere above me, from someone else's mouth.

I looked up instantly, causing myself whiplash and then gasped when I saw who it was that had invaded my moment of depression. Malila.

"W-what...I...M-Malila...?"

Malila rolled her eyes and turned around, "Just shut up and follow me." She said over her shoulder, before disappearing through the trees, in the direction of her house.

I closed my eyes and shook my head. Did I just imagine that? Am I hallucinating now? On top of everything else?

"You coming Clearwater?" Malila's voice yelled.

I winced at the tone in her voice. Nope, definitely not hallucinating, pity... I cannot determine whether that's actually a good or bad thing.

I stood up, my legs slightly shaking. I wiped my tears on the back of my hand and followed the path that Malila had walked on.

This is going to turn out to be one of _those_ weeks.

* * *

**What do you think?? Hope it made up for my slackness. I will definitely try and update sooner, next chapter will be a major one (hopefully), a lot of action! Definitely worth reading, heh hint hint. Please review! Ex oh ex oh (heheh like xoxo, you know from Gossip Girl?) -- Ive had coffee, please excuse the weirdness. **

**Obrigada! :D **


	9. When The Levee Breaks

_**Chapter 9 – When the Levee Breaks**_

**Hey my fellow readers! Hope u have all been well! My brain has been conspiring against me! Every time I try to do assignments its reminding me that I should play KINGDOM HEARTS 3 ! (which I JUST got in to! -_- I KNOW I SUCK!) Anyway here is chapter 9! Ive made it super longggggg BECAUSE I didn't want the anticipated meeting between Crista and Leah to be soo far away! SOOO it will be in the NEXT CHAPTER! PROMISE! This chapter should hopefully answer some questions – as well as make new ones -_- heh sowy! Thanks again for the wicked reviews! I only write because of you guys! So, thankyou heaps! Hope you like this! ^_^ **

**Disclaimer: I've already mentioned that I don't own Twilight (except for 'Crista' ™ and 'Malila' ™) but I should also mention that I don't own the chapter title! LED ZEPPELIN does! (well the version i'm thinking of, other artists have songs with the same name as well)**

**Warnings: Maybe some swearing! (And YES it is FEMMESLASH! LAST TIME IM WARNING ANYBODY ABOUT IT! HATERS WOULD HAVE STOPPED READING AFTER THEY READ THE DISCLAIMER ON CHAPTER TWO! IF YOU DONT LIKE FEMMESLASH THEN I RECOMMEND YOU NEED THERAPY!) :3 ^_^**

**P.S SORRY about the weird page breaks and re-updating of the same chapter, my page breaks aren't working, so ive resorted to letters. **

_**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**_

_Jacob's POV - _

I hadn't seen the Cullens like this since the Volturi were here. Tense, angry and scared. Tense because we had no idea what we were facing. No idea what our enemy was capable of.

Angry; because our enemy would dare to hurt one of our own. Even though she hasn't been with us long, Crista already felt like part of the family, and was viewed in that way. From the day we met her, I guess you could say that we all felt it, felt that she belonged with us, belonged with our unique and crazy little clan. Our unique clan of vampires and wolves. Enemies turned friends.

Last, we were scared, because we had no idea how Crista was, and could no longer keep an eye on her. Why? Because Alice cannot see the future when my kind are involved in the mix. Though, it is weird that Edward can read our minds, even when we are wolves, yet Alice cannot see our future or a future that involves us. Strange.

We were all travelling. Heading towards our nation's capital. Washington D.C. And by the speed we were going we would probably be there by nightfall. Crazy vampires and their suicidal ways of driving. Don't they remember that some of us aren't immortal? Okay, let me rephrase that, don't they remember that some of us don't have a body as strong as steel, even though we are sort of immortal?

I was in Emmett's Jeep, (though I would have preferred we had taken the Vanquish) Emmett was obviously driving, even though I greatly protested, I was a much better driver. But that's for another time and place to discuss. Blondie was with us, along with Sam.

Behind us, in Edward's car, were Edward, Bella, Carlisle and Esme. Alice and Jasper were driving behind them, in the Porsche.

Seth wanted to come too, but we all protested that that was a big NO. I didn't want the kid to fight in unchartered territory. Nessie wasn't even allowed to come. She was at Sam's house with Emily and the rest of my pack, all staying together, just in case that whatever we were facing got out of control. And we couldn't endanger Nessie by bringing her.

Especially if Carlisle was freaking out, muttering something about this new enemy being more powerful than the Volturi themselves. I guess he was freaking out about Alice's premonition, I guess we all were.

_**FLASHBACK - **_

_Alice POV – _

"_Jacob! That was an illegal manoeuvre!" Emmett yelled, as he pressed the buttons of the game control furiously. _

"_Was not! I beat you fair and square! You just won't accept that!" Jacob yelled back, engaged in yet another car race on the PlayStation. They had gone though almost all of our car games. _

_Boys. I don't get them. Thank God for that. At least Jasper was normal. _

"_How many times have you played this game?" Emmett asked astounded when Jacob yet again, beat him. _

"_My first time." Jacob stated arrogantly with a grin._

"_Liar!"_

_This will probably end messy, as long as they take it outside. I don't want them ruining the flowers I just replaced around the living room. I'll kill them. _

"_Just admit it Emmett, I race cars better on PlayStation than you. Probably in real life as well." Jacob had muttered that last part, yet Emmett being a vampire had heard every bit of it. _

"_Oh really? That's it! Rose get me my keys, I'm gonna race circles around this wolf!" _

"_Get your own keys." Rose answered, as she flipped though a Cosmopolitan magazine. _

"_Aw babe! Where's the love?" _

"_Apparently on that stupid game machine!" Rose answered back hotly. _

"_You really wanna race Emmett? 'Cause I'd hate to see you cry when I beat you." Jacob said standing up. _

"_When you beat me? In your dreams! I have 120 horse power and 140 torque in that jeep! And I shall use it to kick your ass!" Emmett said, standing up and facing Jacob. _

"_What? I'm driving the Vanquish you idiot! It's got a V12 6.0 Litre engine, 400 torque and 510 horsepower!" _

"_... Rose! I'm borrowing your car!"_

"_No you're not. My car is a V6 Em, he'll beat you by a long shot." Rosalie answered smugly. _

"_You could use my car Emmett." I answered happily. Edward finally got me the gorgeous yellow 911 Porsche that I've been wanting since Italy._

"_No thanks Alice."_

"_It's turbo!" I said glaring at him._

"_It's a Porsche!"_

"_You bastard!" I yelled, how dare he insults my Porsche! _

_Oh woops...good thing Esme or Carlisle weren't here, they would've confiscated a few of my credit cards for using bad language. _

"_I'd give you my Volvo Emmett, but a) I don't want it totalled, and b) it's only a 2.5 litre, turbo charged, 5 cylinder. Just accept that Jacob has the biggest engine out of all of us and move on before you embarrass yourself." Edward said from the kitchen. _

_Emmett's eye twitched. He had, without a doubt, taken Edward's comment in two ways and felt that his manhood was at stake. _

"_Never! I'm gonna buy myself a Vanquish so that the race is fair and then beat you!" _

"_It's not the car; it's the driver that counts!" Jacob said. _

"_Spoken like a true driver." Bella added in, grinning. _

"_Bella! You too! Will know one support me around here?" Emmett asked, looking around. "Well if my girl Crista was here, she would've supported me!"_

_Doubtful, very doubtf-...oh my God..._

_I froze. _

_Jasper's POV - _

_Alice gasped. I was at her side in less than a second, with Edward not far behind me. Alice's eyes were unfocused, looking at something that was not of this place and time. I held her hands as she had her vision. _

_I could feel so much emotion radiating from her. Pain, sorrow, anger, hurt, betrayal. Edward, who appeared next to me, had the same far off look in his eyes. He was seeing her vision as well. _

"_Alice what do you see?" I asked her._

"_Crista, she's gone..." Alice started saying._

"_What do you mean 'she's gone'?" Emmett asked. _

"_She is going to Washington..."_

"_Why?" Rosalie asked impatiently. I growled at her, if everyone stopped interrupting Alice we may get our answers faster than this rate._

_Rosalie got the hint and stopped herself before she rushed Alice, though not without glaring at me. _

"_She is running through the city...now the scene changes...I see her running into a building...she's angry...really angry...she opens the door and then..." Alice shook her head and looked down. "And then I see nothing." _

_I frowned at the situation. Alice's vision was oddly vague, not very detailed like all of her other ones._

_Suddenly Alice stood up with an air of determination. "We have to save her!"_

"_Why?" Rosalie asked again, this time in search for a different response. "She's gone, she left us and she can take care of herself. She survived over 70 years without us. Let her go."_

"_You don't get it do you Rose? Think why I cannot see her all of a sudden." Alice growled, angry at Rosalie's words. I concentrated on Alice's aura, calming her down. When Alice was angry, she could get out of control if it was left to happen. _

"_How should-..." _

"_Wolves! The wolves have got her!" Alice yelled, though this time without anger in her voice. _

"_The wolves who have been hunting her?" Rosalie asked. _

"_Yes!"_

_Rosalie shrugged indifferently, "As I said, she can take care of herself, you remember that she is a vampire right?"_

_Alice growled at her, and I hadn't been concentrating on calming Alice down, I too would have gotten angry at Rosalie. I looked to Edward to explain what no one other than he, Alice and I seemed to understand. _

"_Rose, Crista barely made it out of her last encounter with them. She gets paralysed by wolves; she can't go near them, doesn't trust them and can't even be around Jacob on her own." Edward told her._

"_It's true. She will only stay around me and Seth if Emmett or any one of you is around her." Jacob added in for good measure. "She can't defend herself against them."_

"_Oh..." Rosalie said, with a faint hint of shame gracing her features. _

"_Which means that if we don't go after her now, she will die." _

_**END OF FLASHBACK – **_

_Jacob's POV – _

I hope we get there in time. It looks like we are going to have to teach some wolves a lesson, for forgetting that we only hunt red eyed vampires.

___**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**_

_Leah's POV – _

This is so weird, weird and awkward to say the least. We both have so much to say to each other, yet neither of us will talk first. She dragged me here, so I will wait for her to speak.

Why is she avoiding looking into my eyes? What made her go from 'bitch' to 'self conscious and shy' in a matter of seconds?

I should probably say something first. Malila is stubborn. Where do you think I get it from? My parents? No. Most un-stubborn people you will ever meet, Seth took after them in that department.

Mum always said that Malila was a bad influence, yet she said this in a fond kind of way, all the way back to the first day we met.

_**FLASHBACK – **_

"_Come on Leah, come little one, it will be okay, you have nothing to be afraid of."_

"_Ma, I don't want to..." Said a six year old Leah, hugging her mum's denim covered legs, in an effort to remain unseen by the person who was meant to be her teacher. _

"_Shy I see." Said a woman's voice. "That's okay, everyone is like that on their first day of school." The woman kneeled before Leah's mum so that she was eye level with little Leah. "Hello darling, my name is Miss Imala. Why don't you sit over at the back there? So that no one can see you."_

_Little Leah smiled gratefully. She didn't want people staring at her back. Her mum led her to the back seat which was already occupied by another young Quileute girl, as the desks were made to fit two people. _

"_I will see you in a few hours, Leah. You'll see, you will have so much fun today that time will pass by so quickly. When I come and get you, you will be upset to leave." Leah's mother kissed her on the forehead and walked out of the class room._

_The teacher started her class, calling out children's names for roll call. _

_Leah sat back in her seat and felt a prickling on the left side of her face as if she was being watched, she turned to her left to see that the girl sitting next to her was staring at her. _

"_Hello". Said the little girl, grinning at Leah. _

"_Hi." Leah whispered. Not wanting to get told off for talking in class as it was apparently a bad thing to do, a tip her father had given her this morning before breakfast. _

_The little girl pinched Leah's arm._

"_Ow!" Why did you do that?" Leah asked with tears in her eyes. _

_The little girl shrugged, "Cos I felt like it."_

"_Everything all right back there?" Miss Imala asked curiously, eyes focused on Leah._

_Leah nodded, rubbing at the spot on her arm where the girl pinched. _

"_Is something wrong Leah?" The teacher questioned further, not convinced, as she noticed the tears in Leah's eyes._

"_Yes, I poked my eye. But I'm okay." Leah said, rubbing her eyes for good measure. _

_Miss Imala simply nodded, obviously being naive to believe that a little girl wouldn't lie, and that Leah was stating the truth, she resumed calling out the class's names. _

"_You are good at lying. I thought you were going to cry. Why didn't you dob?" The little girl said as she stared at Leah in surprise. _

"_Cos I felt like it." Leah answered back glaring, giving the girl a taste of her own vague medicine. _

_The little girl quietly giggled. _

"_I like you already! Wanna be my friend?" She asked excitedly._

"_Maybe." Leah responded, for some reason she liked this girl, even if she did just pinch her and nearly make her cry. _

"_My name is M-..." _

"_Malila Anevay." Miss Imala called out, interrupting the girl's introduction._

"_Present!" Said the girl, before turning her eyes back to Leah, "My name is Malila."_

"_Leah Clearwater?" Miss Imala called out again. _

"_Present!" Leah called out, mimicking Malila. "I'm Leah."_

"_Cool. Hey do you think Miss Imala would cry if we put gum in her hair?" Malila asked excitedly, as she blew a bubble with the gum in her mouth to emphasise her point. _

"_If she had to pull the gum out she would cry. I would laugh." Leah answered, picturing pink gum in her teacher's hair. "But that's mean, Miss Imala has pretty hair." Leah said, looking at the Quileute woman who had gorgeous, long, black hair that stopped at her waist and was being kept out of her face by a green headband. _

"_Put it on her chair instead!" Leah whispered excitedly as soon as the thought had struck. _

_Malila's eyes filled with amusement and mischief. "Okay!"_

_**END FLASHBACK – **_

_Narrator's POV - _

Safe to say that on Leah's first day of school, she received her first 'detention' or 'time out' as it were. Leah remembered her mother telling her off, saying that you shouldn't put gum on nice people's chairs. Leah's mother couldn't believe that her innocent daughter had befriended the class mischief maker.

Though, as Leah got older, her mother couldn't blame Malila for her actions anymore; though her mother should've been happy that Leah did listen to one word of her advice.'You shouldn't put gum on _nice_ people's chairs.'

_**FLASHBACK - **_

"_What about Katy? Prank her or not?" Chloe asked, as she took another puff of her cigarette. "I did see her snap at Ellen today in English. It was completely uncalled for."_

"_No, we don't bully people like that, only the smart asses who ask for it. She may be bitchy and somewhat rude, but she doesn't go around hurting anyone, so let her be. Plus, I think she has PMS, hence the 'snapping'". Leah responded, as she took a quick puff of Chloe's cigarette and coughed. "Urgh! I'm never doing that again! I don't know how you can stand it Chloe. It tastes awful!" _

_Chloe raised her hand, to stare at the cigarette being held between her two fingers for a few seconds before shrugging and taking another puff. "You wanted to try it. I didn't force it on you." _

"_Yes I know, but it still tastes like crap." Leah responded, as she put a piece of gum in her mouth to rid her of the taste of ash. _

"_Whatever, I like it." Chloe said. _

"_You would." Malila and Kaya responded in sync. _

"_Yeah? Well, it will rot your pretty face." Leah said._

"_So you've been telling me the past year. But as I keep saying in response, the day the rotting will be visible is very far away." Chloe answered. _

_The four girls were sitting outside of their high school, as it was lunch time. Chloe was sitting with her back against a tree, out of view of the teacher patrolling, so that she could smoke, Kaya and Malila were sketching the mountains that were taking up the distant horizon while Leah was lying on the ground, resting her head on Malila's lap. _

_They were known as the school's 'Justice League'. A nickname they had received in ninth grade for beating up one of the school bullies who was unnecessarily picking on one of the new boys in the sixth grade. _

_They were the four girls no one messed with, even though the group consisted of two art freaks, one blond bombshell and a wolf obsessed girl, they were all tough and very hard to intimidate. Different, yet alike and very loyal, this is what made them such a strong group of friends. Friends, being the only ones in the whole La Push high school, who happened to love wearing black jeans and nicely fitting flannel shirts or band t-shirts, it was the '90's after all, and they seemed to embrace it well. _

_For a while, Malila had been the leader, but when she attained a sudden interest in art, that role went to Leah. Kaya joined the group because her and Malila met in art class and became good friends while Chloe joined because she was saved by Leah. _

_A few years ago when Chloe had moved to La Push from New York City, one of the school bullies at the time, Tyson, had cornered her in an empty corridor and forced himself onto her, trying to kiss her. _

_*/*/*/*/*_

_Leah had just so happened to have forgotten a book in her locker, leaving Malila at the entrance of the school as she retraced her steps back into the building. Leah reached the corridor finding a scared Chloe pressed against the wall as Tyson was a mere few inches away from Chloe's lips._

_Leah acted without a moment's pause. "Hey Tyson!" She said, standing behind him._

"_What?" He asked, turning around, clearly not recognising who the voice belonged to. _

_Leah grabbed Tyson's shoulder's and kneed him in an area that would weaken any man for a good few hours. _

"_That's what." Leah said, before grabbing Chloe by the hand and leading her towards the exit of the school._

"_Wh- why would you do that?" Chloe asked, astonished that someone had helped her._

"_Why would you ask such a question?" Leah asked, astounded._

"_I'm not Quileute, I'm only half Cherokee and I'm blond." Chloe said, looking down at her moving feet. "I've been picked on all day because I'm different."_

"_Well me and mine won't pick on you. It doesn't matter if you're Quileute or not. You shouldn't be bullied just because you're different. I'm Leah by the way. Hang with us, we'll protect you." Leah said smiling at Chloe. She could see why Tyson found her appealing. She was a blond Cherokee girl, very pretty and different indeed. And she was petite, making her an easy target. _

"_I'm Chloe." Chloe said, smiling back at the first person to be nice to her all day. _

"_Nice to meet you." Leah said as they exited the school and met up with a confused looking Malila who was expecting her friend to return with a book, not with a girl. _

"_Where did you get that from Leah? I want one." Malila asked amused as she eyed Chloe up and down. Malila had come out that she liked girls two years ago. Most people didn't take it as a surprise, saying that Malila did overcompensate with bad ass behaviour and attitude and that they saw it coming; especially because she was such a feminist. _

_*/*/*/*/*_

"_I might get my tattoo here Malila." Leah said from her place at Malila's lap, placing her wrist under Malila's nose. Malila, who was still sketching the mountains, paused for a moment, staring at Leah's wrist._

"_Which one?" Malila asked._

"_The wolf one." Leah answered._

_All three girls rolled their eyes. _

"_Yes we know the 'wolf one'. All of your tattoos are going to be of wolves, but which one out of the five pictures that you showed me will it be off?" Malila asked. _

"_The one where it shows only the head of a wolf howling at a full moon, and it has a tribal tattoo added to it." Leah answered happily. _

_Malila rolled her eyes again. Leah loved wolves way too much. _

_Yet it was probably because Sam Uley, from the other class, wore a wolf pendant that caused Leah to sigh like a love sick puppy every time she spoke about wolves. _

"_Okay, I'm officially bored. Can we hit anyone today?" Chloe asked. The girl had changed a lot since joining the group. She wasn't as shy and introverted anymore and she actually enjoyed fighting, yet she didn't ever hit anyone unless they hit her first. She may enjoy violence but she wasn't an idiot to start a fight. _

"_I don't think so..." Leah began but was interrupted as a girl named Nara, from a year below came running towards them._

"_Leah..." The girl huffed as she tried catching her breath. "Jacy from the 12__th__ grade is about to beat up Istu!"_

"'_Sugar Daddy'? Why?" Malila asked. Chuckling at her nickname for Istu, as 'Istu' literally meant 'sugar'. Something that, because of Malila, he would never live down. _

"_Because Istu 'came out' a few days ago that he was gay and Jacy is a homophobe!" Nara yelled in panic. _

"_Oh hell no! That won't do!" Malila said, seeing red, as she slammed her art book shut and pulled Leah up with her. _

"_Ladies, it looks like we do get to beat someone up today, after all." Leah said._

"_Oh hell yeah!" Chloe yelled, excited, as she took a long puff of her cigarette before butting it out. _

_Kaya simply rolled her eyes, and shut her art book, "Great. I just bought this t-shirt as well". _

"_Can it sister, we got some ass to kick!" Chloe said to her. "And there are plenty more Guns n' Roses t-shirts where they came from."_

"_Not in this neighbourhood." Kaya muttered. _

"_Nara, lead the way." Leah said, as the girls ran after Nara, leading them to a bully who soon won't be able to walk for a week. _

_**END FLASHBACK - **_

I was brought back to the present when I heard Malila crying. I did a double take. Malila _crying_? Malila rarely cries. She has only cried a few times in her life and according to Malila I was the only one who bared witness to all of them.

Now I felt helpless. How do I comfort someone I have bad history and unresolved issues with? What if she doesn't want me to comfort her? Why is it I feel uncomfortable about doing so?

'_This isn't about you.'_ Said a voice in my head. I sighed, I guess not, for the time being.

I slowly approached Malila, making sure that my footsteps were noisy so that she knew I was approaching her, as she had her back turned to me.

"Malila?" I asked, with uncertainty.

"Malila." I tried again. I was right behind her now. I was so close to her I could almost feel the heat radiating from her body.

I raised a shaking hand and gently placed it on her shoulder. The contact must've brought her out of her revere, as she landed on her knees onto the floor, crying. I retaliated how I always use to during those rare moments when Malila cried, I landed on my knees behind her and hugged her, resting my head on her shoulder.

Some people don't want to be touched when they are this upset, some want to be left alone, yet the ones who are so insecure and unsure of their worth, always appreciate physical comfort, just like Malila, they like to be reassured in their weakest moments, that someone will always be there.

This was how it had always been between us, we would always touch each other, hugs, arms around the waist, rest our heads against each other if we slept during class, there wasn't a physical boundary between Malila and I.

It used to be second nature to me...yet...not anymore, for obvious reasons. Funny though, with Malila that I could easily slip back into old habits and feel comfortable about doing so. In that moment, I felt like me again.

___**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**_

_Narrator's POV – _

'_She isn't putting up much of a struggle if you ask me.'_

'_Well we didn't, so shut up.'_

The wolf pack was carrying a petrified Crista through the dark halls of a building that has long been abandoned.

The leader was walking in front, leading the pack to the room their boss would be in. Two wolves had their teeth sunk into Crista's arms, securing their hold on her, while two other wolves had the same secure grip on Crista's legs. The four wolves worked together in carrying the vampire, whose eyes were staring up at the ceiling, trying to calm herself down.

Another wolf was walking behind, just in case Crista had found a way to break free.

'_We are here.'_ The leader spoke, his voice heard in the minds of his pack. The leader halted in front of a large wooden door, he froze as he concentrated on turning back to his human form.

The man then opened the door, without hesitating to knock, he knew his boss knew they were there, the boss knew everything. He gestured with his hand for his pack to follow him inside the dark room.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here..." a handsome voice said, its' source hidden in the shadows. Suddenly every single light in the room ignited, revealing an incredibly large meeting hall, with a long, oval shaped table situated in the centre. The table had fifty chairs surrounding it, at the head of the table stood two vampires, a male and a female, the male looking straight at Crista, with a small evil grin gracing his features.

They looked like every vampire the wolves had come across, pale, beautiful and evil. The male's hair was breathtaking; it was extremely long and layered, reaching his waist and was silver in colour. His silver hair contrasted well with his pale skin and blood red eyes. He had a strong, tall build and muscular upper body.

The female was equally as breathtaking. She had the same blood red eyes and pale skin, golden blonde hair that was just as long as her mate's and she was just as tall as her mate as well. Side by side, the pair projected an air of oppositeness - ying and yang, different, yet equally as powerful.

The wolves holding Crista let out a low growl, the male vampire nodded in confirmation, eyes never leaving Crista's face. The wolves released their hold on Crista, throwing her on the cold, hard floor.

Crista winced in pain, her arms and legs had punctures from the wolves' teeth; but that was the least of her problems.

She knew she was in major danger, her senses kept going haywire, like alarm bells that won't stop ringing. Her survival instincts were telling her to appear threatening, show the enemy that you are strong, don't show them your fear. Yet her mind was telling her to run, because she was way out of her league here, and will probably end up dead.

Crista chose to listen to both. She had landed on her back when the wolves threw her, so she rolled over and balanced her weight on her knees and palms, like an animal crouching before it attacked. She let out a low lion's roar, her most powerful sounding animal, as her eyes and ears helped her brain find the closest exit route.

"My, you are intriguing aren't you?" the male vampire questioned, as he continued to run his eyes all over Crista, analysing every inch of her.

Crista let out another roar, her eyes boring into the vampire's, showing him that she wasn't afraid.

"But you are, aren't you? And unfortunately it's not of me, it's of them..." The male vampire said, nodding his head in the smallest of gestures towards the wolves standing behind Crista.

Now Crista's fear of the vampire was starting to become existent, how did he know what she was thinking? Was he just like Edward?

The male vampire smirked as if confirming her thoughts. The female vampire looked towards her mate, and he broke his gaze from Crista to look at her too. They kept staring at each other, but not in love or admiration, it was as if they were in deep concentration. It was as if they were conversing through thought, just like the wolves were able to.

Suddenly the male stepped forward, approaching Crista without caution or care. This startled Crista; no one ever approached her with so much confidence.

Since becoming a vampire, Crista was always approached as if she was a vicious animal. Caution was taken and one's guard was up, in case she would attack. That all changed with the Cullens, yet it still was something she wasn't use to.

The vampire stopped within a meter of Crista, arms at his sides, open and unguarded, as if waiting to see what Crista would do.

Crista did...nothing. She waited. If you want to take down an enemy, examine them, watch their every move, allow them to make the first move. First move indicates what fighting style or position they prefer, it can help you to identify their weakness, (or weaknesses if you were lucky).

The vampire kneeled down before Crista, which surprised her even more, as well as making her even more uncomfortable than she already was.

"I'm Aramis, Crista." The vampire said confidently, showing Crista that his position of apparent vulnerability did not bother him in the slightest.

Crista was scared, that much was obvious, but she was now scared for a different reason, just how did Aramis know her name, when she had yet to speak it out loud?

Aramis smirked at Crista and then nodded with his head towards his mistress who was still standing where he had left her. "That is Simara."

Crista did not look away from Aramis to glance at Simara, not once. She had already seen what the vampire looked like before, there was no need to glance back at her and let down her guard, all for the social form of introduction where one normally glances at an introduced person to acknowledge them.

Aramis stood up, and circled Crista, examining her even further.

"You don't say much, do you?" He asked from behind her.

While he was behind her, Crista used the opportunity to glance around the room subtly, trying to spot a possible exit route. She found one. Now she just had to calculate her odds of reaching the open window without the wolves, Aramis or Simara reaching her in time.

The chances? A million to one.

Aramis reached to the spot he had stood moments before, in front of Crista.

"You haven't changed yet, have you?" Aramis asked, while looking into Crista's eyes.

What did he mean by that? Change? Yet? Crista had to get out of here, she felt as if those eyes could read her, read right through to the core of her soul. And she didn't like that one bit.

"Not much of a talker? That's okay, I can fix that." Aramis smirked with confidence, as if he knew exactly how to make Crista talk.

Torture? Already? Crista had figured this as much. That by the end of this she would be either brutally tortured to the point where she can't even move, or dead. No one would save her. She liked the Cullens, but she hadn't been with them long enough for her to be deemed as important for rescuing. And she couldn't blame them.

If Crista had to choose, she wouldn't rescue herself either. Between the Cullens and herself, Crista would have chosen the Cullens. She wasn't worth saving. She was broken, damaged beyond repair. But if this was going to be her last few moments on Earth, if this was going to be her end, then she was going to make it such an end.

There was no way she was going without a fight. Closing her eyes, Crista mentally prepared herself, and her body. She could feel her senses tingling, as if they were over exerting themselves, awakening to the complete capacity and potential, ready for battle.

She felt the inner animal that she was, she was going to lose herself to this animal, and let it take over her. She was not going to fight fair, but fight viciously. Every animal that existed was waiting for her call, locked up inside of her, waiting to come out.

Crista could feel them, and they were angry for being threatened, for being put in such a situation as this. Crista opened her eyes, and smirked, there was no way she was going to die without leaving her mark on this Earth, if she had to take this building down with her, along with the Aramis, Simara and even the wolves, then she would.

Aramis walked back towards Simara, who held out a piece of paper to him, which he took. Before he turned back around to face Crista, her last few thoughts were that she wasn't afraid of the wolves when she let herself become her inner animal.

Pity, if she had figured this out beforehand she could have killed the wolves before all of this, before running into Forks, before meeting the Cullens, before dying.

But Crista figured that maybe dying wasn't so bad. She would hopefully see her family again, or maybe she won't, considering that she is damned. She may not have killed them, but she had wanted to. She figured that in God's eyes, that wasn't acceptable. And she was okay with that.

It was what she deserved. Crista didn't want forgiveness, or mercy, such things didn't matter to her now, she just wanted more than anything to wipe that smirk off of Aramis' face.

Aramis was facing Crista once again, paper in hand. "I wonder, if seeing this will cause a reaction from you?" He asked, flipping the paper around to show a coloured image. It wasn't paper, it was a photo.

Crista froze upon seeing the image. She studied it and then put two and two together. She saw red...

Crista let out a loud lion's roar and leapt into the air, aiming for Aramis. Just as she was a mere inch from him, he lifted his free hand, his palm facing Crista, and Crista froze. Yes, she froze in mid air, Crista couldn't feel anybody touching her, holding her in place, for a second she actually thought she was dreaming, or even dead.

She tried looking as far over her shoulder as possible and saw that the wolves were indeed not holding her, though they were crouched, ready to pounce.

Crista turned her head back to look in front of her. Aramis had an evil smirk on his face.

Aramis curled his fingers inwards, towards the center of his hand and Crista felt one of the worst pain's she had ever experienced in her life. It was as if an invisible force was going through each bone in Crista's body and breaking it.

Crista was thrown to the floor where she writhed in pain, she would not scream, no matter how bad the pain got, she wouldn't scream, because screaming would make this real.

___**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**_

_Leah's POV - _

"Damn you, Clearwater, damn you..." Malila whispered as she shed the last of her tears.

She had gripped my arm the entire time I was hugging her, when she retracted her hands, you could see half moon marks from her nails, embedded into my skin. I could see them from over her shoulder.

Malila noticed them as well, and gently ran her fingers across them, as if memorising yet being sorry for what she caused on my skin.

However she stopped when my werewolf abilities healed the marks, leaving my skin smooth again. Malila frowned and shook her head, as if deciding to not ask me how that happened, as if deciding it didn't matter, as if she _knew_.

My eyes went wide as I was too scared to move. Shit! She saw me heal! She _saw_ me heal! It was so fast and done within a matter of seconds, that there was no way I could lie my way out of it if she questioned me about it.

"Relax Leah, why so tense?" Malila asked, with a small trace of venom in her voice.

"No reason." I responded nervously. "Are you okay?" I asked trying to change the subject.

Malila scoffed, "Don't try and change the subject." Damn, she _still_ knew me too well.

I breathed out a sigh and placed my forehead against her shoulder blade, "I...it's just that...this...this here...it's been too long..." I said, indicating to our current positions on the floor.

Luckily I was also a good liar, not even Malila knew when I was lying.

"Yeah...it has." She answered back with a sigh. I instantly relaxed, grateful she bought it. I kept my arms around her. I didn't want to move, so I buried my face in the crook of Malila's neck and breathed in. I had missed this, missed her scent, missed her voice, missed everything about her.

"Leah..." Malila whispered softly, "Don't...please...stop..." she said, practically begging, her voice strained, as if she was in pain.

"Malila?" I questioned. What was wrong with her? Why did being this physically close suddenly disturb her? It was never like that between us before.

"I can't...I just can't..." Malila said, I couldn't believe how broken she sounded, what was causing her this much pain?

I stayed silent, too scared to move.

"You have no idea, do you? You never did...you have no idea how much I'm hurting inside..." Malila whispered. She then turned her head so that she could look over her shoulder and into my eyes, "Do you know what it's like to love someone you shouldn't? To love someone you know you could never have?"

Before I could frown, or move, or question her, I felt more than saw Malila's hand hold onto my chin and bring my face towards hers.

"Do you know how painful it is?" She whispered, before closing the gap between us, our lips touching in the most tender kiss I have ever been given.

___**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**_

_Narrator's POV – _

"Scream for me Crista, the pain is only going to get worse, so I will eventually torture it out of you. Come on, I want to hear that pretty voice of yours." Aramis said.

Crista wondered what the hell Aramis would gain from hearing her voice. Whatever the reason, she was not going to comply.

"Crista!"

Crista heard her name being called, but it was her imagination. That voice...that voice wasn't here. That voice was miles away, back in Forks, safe.

"Crista! Are you okay!"

Great, now the torture was racking her body so much that it was causing her brain to malfunction and give her hallucinations. Just perfect.

"Stop it! You're hurting her!"

Bella? Why the hell was Crista having hallucinations of Bella for, of all people? Shouldn't her dying moments be with her seeing her mother or father, or someone from her old life? Isn't that how it worked?

"Obviously, isn't that the point of torture?" Asked Aramis' voice.

Crista heard Bella give out a growl. Or was that Crista herself? She wasn't sure, the pain was becoming far too much, there was a moment or two a few seconds ago when Crista was handling the constant ongoing pain to her body, 'mind over matter' right?

Crista had shut herself off mentally so that her brain wasn't attuning to what was happening to her body.

Bloody Bella had to bring her back out, damn it! Why couldn't Aramis had just killed her already instead of torturing her in hopes of hearing Crista scream.

Crista wouldn't scream, no she wouldn't. She would not make a sound, because that would mean Aramis had won.

"Bella! NO!"

Edward too? Just what in the world were they doing here? Couldn't a girl die in peace?

Crista then snapped open her eyes, Bella and Edward's voices had fully re-awoken her senses to what was happening around her, she had just heard six more footsteps enter the room, which meant that there was ten people who didn't belong here, who should've been far away from here.

This was a rescue! Crista had not for one minute anticipated a rescue, she looked after herself, had saved her own hide countless of times, no one had ever rescued her.

Crista was still on the floor, curled in a ball, as pain was coursing through her body. She could feel her skin cracking even more, from the pain, from her muscles tensing. Crista wondered if her body would actually fall apart from all this broken skin.

Aramis raised an eyebrow at the new company.

"How did you ever find this place?" Asked Aramis with amused curiosity.

"You aren't great at covering your tracks. Let's just put it that way." Esme said with a little arrogance.

The Cullens all glanced at Edward for a moment, and anyone who knew the family would know that they were waiting to see what he could read from Aramis' thoughts, but all they were met with was a disappointingly confused Edward. They knew that face by now, they knew Edward couldn't read Aramis' thoughts.

"Hmm, seems your arrogance can be justified Esme, I guess I was rather sloppy."

Carlisle didn't like the fact that Aramis knew Esme's name, not at all. He stepped forward, standing in front of her.

"Calm down Carlisle, I won't hurt your precious mate. It's not Esme I'm after, it's her." Aramis indicated to Crista who was still struggling with the pain. "In fact, if you all leave now, me and my own won't hurt any of you, and that's a promise."

Aramis eyed all of the Cullens, who seemed to have paused at his words. _'Good, they are thinking things through.'_ He thought. Little did he know, they were all thinking of a plan to get out alive, Crista included.

Crista was noticing that the pain was subsiding a little. It seems that for it to be completely effective, Aramis' attention would need to be solely on her.

Carlisle was doing some very fast thinking. _'There is no reasoning with this man. We need to leave from here. There is Edward and Bella, they are the closest to Crista, if they could pick her up and carry her out. We are covered with the wolves. We just have to watch out for him.'_

"I wonder where my dogs have got to." Said Aramis, sighing as he sat down on his chair and leaned his cheek against his knuckle, projecting boredom and nonchalance, when quite the contrary; Aramis was on high alert and having the time of his life, he lived for moments like these. _'This is fun...'_ he thought with relish.

Edward smiled mockingly, "You are not the only one with the wolves as allies."

"They are not allies. They are forced to be here." Aramis said with a hint of pride in his voice at achieving such a thing.

"That's not something to be proud of, that's just plain sad." Said Emmett, with disgust as well as determination, he was eager to kick this guy's ass.

Carlisle caught most of his family's eyes and they all nodded, and dashed out. Everything happened within a heartbeat.

Edward and Bella ran for Crista, and picked her up. Jasper and Emmet, as some of the strongest in the family, stood in front of Alice, Rose and Esme, as Carlisle ran straight for Aramis, hoping to distract him until Crista was safely taken through those doors.

Two things occurred to the Cullens at once. Number one - Aramis was a lot more _powerful_ than he was letting on. Number two – they were all way out of their league.

All of the Cullens flew into the air and were pushed back by an invisible force, up against the wall, where they remained stuck and unable to break away. Aramis did this, without so much as lifting a finger.

"Good, now that playtime is over..." Aramis muttered. "The serious stuff can begin."

Aramis walked over to Crista, who had been dropped when Bella and Edward were thrown against the wall, and knelt beside her.

"Crista, we can do this in two ways, either you start talking now, or I hurt your beloved rescuers here until you talk. Either way, you will speak to me. I want to hear that voice of yours. Since you obviously won't scream, at least say something." Aramis spoke with a little impatience, the first sign that he was starting to crack; he hadn't expected Crista to hold out this long.

Crista kept her mouth shut, even when Aramis increased the pain going through her body, what was a little extra pain now anyway? Her body had received so much. It was almost a numb kind of feeling..._almost_.

Aramis rose an eyebrow at Crista's tolerance, "Very well, if you will not speak on your own behalf..." He started calmly, "...then you will for theirs!" Aramis stood quickly and rose his hand once again, except this time, there was no invisible force. No, this force was very noticeable, much to the Cullen's dismay.

A ball of fire had emitted from Aramis' hand, before moving forward at top speed, towards the direction of the Cullens. It surrounded them, covering them in a hollow ball of fire.

This was no comfort to them, as fire is one of the things that vampires are really afraid of, it was the one thing that could permanently destroy them. Every vampire knew this, and Aramis cleverly used it as a weapon against his own kind.

Crista's eyes went wide as she watched the Cullen's disappear from view as the fire covered them completely.

"My God, Emmett!" Rose whispered in shock, though it was at least two metres from them, the Cullens were in a cave made of fire, it was getting hot very quickly.

"Shh, it's okay." Emmett said, attempting to sooth his mate.

"How can you say that? We are all going to die!"

Emmett shook his head, "Have faith Rose, we'll be okay..."

"You are mature at the wrong times, you idiot!"

Emmett chuckled, "Love you too, babe."

Aramis was watching Crista's shock and fear with enjoyment, "Say something, or they die..."

Crista didn't say anything, she couldn't, after 70 years of not using her voice, she couldn't speak, it was almost like she had forgotten, and she was also scared.

Scared of what though? What was so scary about speaking again?

Aramis was now getting annoyed. He had not anticipated this entire event to take so long. He increased the pain coursing through Crista's body, a push for her to speak. Still nothing.

"Fine..." Aramis said, raising an eyebrow as he turned facing the fire ball, increasing the intensity of the heat surrounding the Cullens.

Alice and Rosalie gasped at the increase in heat, even though the fire wasn't touching them (yet), their clothes were starting to burn.

Bella had even tried to use her shield against the fire. She figured that if it was coming from Aramis himself, then it was just another vampire ability she could protect her family from, but no such luck.

The heat, it was too much, it was becoming unbearable. If the Cullens weren't so good at tolerating pain, they'd be screaming in agony by now. But honestly speaking, they had put up with much worse in the past.

From the day they were sired, to Esme falling from a cliff, Edward being tortured by Jane, Emmett being mauled by a bear or from Rosalie being on the brink of death, no thanks to her ex-fiancée and his friends, - the Cullens could handle the pain, it was just the goodbyes that were too painful to handle.

"We're going to die..."

"This is it..."

"I love you."

"Me too..."

Aramis kneeled before Crista again, and lowered his head so that he could whisper into her ear, "This, this right here, will be all your fault, it's not as if I'm asking you to do the impossible, but have it your way..."

Aramis lifted his hand towards the Cullens, to increase the fire for the last time.

"Say goodbye to the Cullens, Crista. There is no peace where they are going."

Aramis closed his eyes and opened his hand, palm facing the fiery prison.

"Don't."

Funny how one simple word can have so much effect when spoken by a particular person, especially when said sound was presumed to be a hallucination. Had that word really been spoken? Or was hope playing a trick on them?

It seemed the whole world had stopped at that point. Everyone froze. Time was on a standstill, taking a break for a moment or two.

Everyone just stared at a single point in the room, at Crista. Her mouth opened for the second time, moving and making a sound, they weren't hallucinating. Crista was actually speaking, for the first time in over 70 years.

"L-leave...my f-family...alone", It came out as a mere, weak whisper, but it was heard by the room full of vampires, nonetheless.

Good thing that when someone is frozen in shock, whatever they were doing beforehand stops as well. Crista wasn't feeling anymore pain, and the fireball? It had disappeared, revealing eight very stunned and very grateful Cullens. Who were no longer pinned to the wall, but were standing on their own two feet.

Aramis was frozen in disbelief. That was his second mistake, letting his guard down. The first, was threatening Crista's family. Crista had no self love, she couldn't care less what happened to her, but people she cared about were a different story altogether.

Crista jumped up and crouched on all fours. She threw her head back and roared her favourite roar, the lion again, the strong, proud lion. The king. It was about time Crista showed Aramis just who he was messing with.

Crista dived at him. Catching him off guard, this was convenient as it wouldn't have worked if he was expecting an attack.

She knocked him onto the ground, smashing a hole in the floor with his back.

Crista aimed a punch at Aramis' face, starting the battle between the two. As they fought, Carlisle and Emmett ran straight for Simara, as she had already started running to her mate's aid. The rest of the Cullens followed suit.

It was vampire against vampire, fighting like the animals they were claimed to be. All fighting in a cat like manner, with growls, and teeth and nails, with the speed and velocity no human could possibly muster.

"So, you are not completely useless after all?" Aramis asked as he pinned Crista to the wall, the same wall that had held the Cullens to face their almost fiery death, moments before.

Crista growled at him and swapped their positions, with Aramis facing the wall, his back to Crista as she grabbed a handful of his silver hair and pulled his head back, before slamming it hard into the wall.

Crista then brought her face close to his ear and whispered, "I don't even know why you are after me in the first place."

Aramis let out a soft chuckle, "Hn, perhaps we should get to that conversation then, shouldn't we?" He said before ducking onto his knees and swinging around so that he could push Crista by her legs, sending her flying across the floor, coming to a halt in the middle of the room.

"The sole reason I've been hunting you after all these years, Crista, is for revenge."

Crista glared at him, just what revenge was he talking about? She hadn't done anything to him.

"You see, the day you were sired, you killed someone who was, I guess you could say 'important' to me."

Crista remained still, waiting for Aramis to finish.

While this was happening, the Cullens had managed to corner Simara, who had proven that just because she was as elegant and graceful as she appeared, didn't mean she didn't know how to fight dirty.

Simara punched the floor, as the Cullens were nearing her, creating a seismic type of reaction as the floorboards came out of the floor in a wave, leading straight to the Cullens. It had happened so fast that it had managed to send Emmett, Jasper, Esme and Bella into the air. The faster ones were still standing as they had jumped over the floorboards in time.

Alice grinned at Simara, "You're not the only one who can fight dirty." She said as she pointed to the area at Simara's right. Simara knew before she even looked, Emmett, Jasper, Esme and Bella were standing right there.

They had purposely let themselves be thrown into the air, aiming their bodies so that they could fly against the ceiling, landing as close to Simara as possible.

As Simara processed this, Alice used Simara's distraction to grab a hold of a large log, which had a burning ember at the end of it, from the fire place that was right next to her (after all there was a reason why they had cornered Simara in this particular part of the room).

Alice flung it into the air with as much speed and strength as she could, creating the glowing ember to become a flame once more. She then ran a semi circle in front of Simara, dragging the flame across the floor, making the broken floor boards catch alight. Now she was cornered, with four vampires and a high and fast growing flame.

Alice held onto the flame, just in case, and smirked at Simara, "Now what?" She taunted her.

Simara held her ground, and raised her hand, palm open, just like Aramis. The fire started to die down.

"What the...?" Emmett started saying, confused.

"You think I can't defend myself like Aramis can? We are equals after all..." Simara's alluring voice whispered, before she closed her eyes, causing large icicles to appear over the flame, slowly killing it.

"Alice, go!" Carlisle said, nodding to Alice.

Alice got the hint and ran, lighting up everything with the flame as she went. They couldn't win this, so they had to take down the building and get the hell out of there. Just like in war, if the situation cannot be sustained to your advantage, retreat to higher ground, or retreat to reform and then strike again.

Crista rose an eyebrow at Aramis' words.

"Not sure who I am referring to?" Aramis asked, "Surely you remember, he had hair as long as mine, black, he looked like me in a way. Deep voice, tall, strong and red eyes."

Crista wasn't putting description to a face just yet.

"Perhaps I should point out that he is the one who sired you, as if you could have forgotten your...killer."

Crista froze, no, she had purposely forgotten the vampire who had changed her, ruined her life for eternity. Now that Aramis had said it, she did remember his face, only barely. Though Crista preserved her human memories as much as possible, reminiscing on them nearly every day so that she wouldn't forget her happiest moments, she did block two days from her memories, so that she couldn't accidently stumble upon them.

The first was the moment she had realised she was no longer human, and the anger that she felt, and the other was of how her own family had looked when she found them mauled in their own home.

"Isn't it funny, how so many of our paths connect without us knowing?" Aramis continued talking, as flashes of Crista's buried memories were rising to the surface.

She was starting to remember, his long dark hair, his face, the shock on his face when she attacked him, his body in pieces, the fire, she even remembered when he introduced himself...

'"_Crista is it? You can call me..."'_

"Xiras..." Crista muttered under her breath, Aramis' ears perked at what he heard.

"So, you do remember...and his name was Xiramas. I don't understand why the idiot preferred Xiras."

So Aramis knew Xiras? Well enough to want to avenge his death?

"He was my brother you know."

Oh, guess that explained why Aramis was after Crista in the first place.

Aramis let out a sigh, "Yes, it was a pity he had to die, really inconvenient for me. You set me very far behind on my plans. You've caused me a lot of trouble the past 70 years, Crista."

A pity his brother had to _die_? Did he not care at all?

"You see, once upon a time, my brother was just as powerful as me, yet he didn't care for his powers as much as I did. He didn't see the importance of them, he was incredibly naive. We had a _disagreement_, so he left and pursued the nomadic lifestyle. This almost ruined me, as I needed what he had but didn't want. So, naturally, I sent the wolves after him. It was like a game of cat and mouse, so to speak. When my wolves did eventually return they came back to me with an incredibly amusing story. Crista... do you know what they told me? They said to me that my brother had sired himself a mate, who turned on him and killed him. You Crista were able to kill my brother. _That_ is why you are here. You are a complete mystery. I intend on studying you. I want to see what makes you 'tick'. I want to know how a newborn was able to kill a vampire as powerful as Xiramas. Don't get me wrong I have my theories. I just need you here so I can prove them right or wrong. Then I have myself a powerful weapon."

So that's it then? That was why Crista was hunted for all those years. Not because she was alleged to have killed her family, but because her ability to have killed Xiras was something astonishing. Well, she wasn't going to be anyone's weapon, no way in hell.

"Oh, by the way, don't bother feeling any regret on killing Xiras. Call it an eye for an eye if you will, he did kill your family after all..." Aramis had timed it perfectly, he knew saying those last words would have an extreme effect on Crista. He was too right.

The Cullens paused for a moment, during their own battle, in disbelief, as Aramis' words reached their ears.

Crista eyes widened as her brain froze, processing Aramis' words, processing everything. It all came back to her now.

The way Xiras smelled. Now, with horror, Crista realised why his smell was so alluring to her after she had turned. He smelled like blood, yes, but it was blood she had known. Her family's blood, technically and literally on Xiras' hands.

It was that smell she had remembered, even after killing Xiras, which helped her to track her house, right where her family were.

Aramis and Xiras were brothers. Aramis would pay. In a way, it was partly his fault her family were dead.

Crista didn't think about it, because she knew Aramis could read her thoughts, she just acted. After all, an animal's motives were a lot harder to predict.

Crista crouched, and let out a low growl, before pouncing on Aramis once again. She fought with a new level of ferocity, tearing at him as much as she could.

"I'm sick of this..." Crista said to Aramis as she had managed to snap his arm, "...this ends now."

"I say whether we're done or not! You are going nowhere!" Aramis yelled, as he threw Crista at the ceiling.

Crista caught the chandelier, and prepared her body for the jump off. Aiming herself at Aramis, she leapt at him with such speed that she was a mere blur.

The fire that Alice had lit around the room was starting to pick up. During the commotion, Alice had slipped out of the room and started a fire in every other part of the building she could reach.

She made it back in time to see Crista throw herself at Aramis from the ceiling. Alice signalled Carlisle, who nodded in response.

The building was close to collapsing, they had to grab Crista and get out _now_. Plus it didn't help that they could hear fire engines in the distance, excellent; someone just had to report the burning building.

The Cullens all looked at each other before they fanned out; some working their way around the fighting Aramis and Crista in order to reach the exit and keep it clear, while some stayed with Simara, making sure she didn't move. This left Carlisle, Jasper and Emmett to handle taking Crista from Aramis.

Just then the floor beneath them cracked in half, creating a crater like shape into the floor as gravity was starting to affect the upper levels of the building. The sight they met froze all the vampires, except for Aramis and Crista who were too busy concentrating on each other.

The large hole in the floor revealed the burning lower levels. It was like staring into the pit of Hell itself. It sent chills down the frozen vampires, as they had never seen fire like this before.

"You think fire will scare me? My abilities circulate around fire, it is my element. I am not afraid of it!" Aramis said as he knocked Crista to the centre of the room, before pinning her to the ground, her head half hanging over the fiery pit. "But you are, aren't you Crista?"

The side of Crista's lips curled up into a smirk. She didn't think anything. No, she wanted to have the pleasure of telling Aramis herself.

"Actually, I'm not afraid of fire, Aramis. It's one of those things that I have never been afraid of...and never will. My star sign is a Leo after all, so fire..." Crista head butted Aramis, who flew back into the air, "...is also my element. It's going to be hard for you to kill me or intimidate me."

Jasper, Emmett and Carlisle ran as fast as they could, catching Aramis as he fell. They held onto him, waiting for Crista.

"Crista, now!" Emmett said, as he, Jasper and Carlisle snapped Aramis' limbs.

Crista ran and punched Aramis right in the centre of his chest. The impact causing the porcelain skin on his face to crack, resembling Crista's face, which had now accumulated even more battle wounds.

Carlisle, Emmett and Jasper then let go, as Crista held onto Aramis' shirt and fell on her back, taking Aramis with her. She drew her knees to her chest, so that her feet were planted onto Aramis torso, and she kicked, sending Aramis flying over her, and falling into the fiery pit.

"No!" Simara yelled as she watched her mate disappear into the flames. She ran after him, and Edward let her, as he watched her jump into the pit.

Somewhere below the building, there was another explosion. Carlisle sniffed it out straight away, his eyes widening, "The flame's hit a gas tank! Everyone run!"

Jasper and Emmett held onto Crista's arms and ran together, straight for the exit. Edward and Carlisle caught up with them. Thankfully Rose, Alice and Bella had remained at the exit, holding it open, as the ceiling was trying to cave in on the open doorway.

The Cullens and Crista ran down the long corridor, when they reached the end they bumped into two figures. They didn't attack. They recognised that particular smell anywhere, both parties did.

"Hey what's-..." Jake had started to say before Bella had grabbed him and Sam by the arms and pulled them along.

"Just run, talk later." Bella said with urgency, as they headed towards the back of the building.

Just as the Cullens, Crista, Sam and Jacob had reached the open door, the gas tank had exploded, sending the eleven of them flying through the door and into the air, as the building closed in on itself.

___**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**_

_Leah's POV - _

After a moment, when my body finally caught up with my brain, I pulled back, gasping in shock. Actually, shock was an understatement. I was downright fucking gobsmacked.

I touched my lips, which were still tingling from the sensation of being kissed. Or were they tingling because Malila had kissed me? Whatever the reason, it had been the first kiss I had received in a long time, the first kiss since Sam, the _only_ kiss beside Sam.

I looked into Malila's eyes, she grimaced, as if she had done something wrong and was awaiting her punishment. I acted without pause. I placed my hands on her shoulders, turning her around so that she was fully facing me. Then I placed my hands on her cheeks, keeping her head from moving away.

"Why?" I whispered, placing so much meaning behind that one word. Why did you kiss me? Why me? Why now? Why, after all this time?

"B-because... I l-love you..." Malila said, closing her eyes as a tear shed down her cheek. I kissed her cheek where the tear was and then pulled her head against my chest, hugging her.

Malila was in love with me, somehow, I think I always knew that, from way back, after she came out.

"I'm sorry." I said, as I rested my head on top of hers. Its' funny how, with the right portrayal, the word 'sorry' can either mean an apology or a rejection. Malila could clearly hear that mine was the latter.

"I know...I always knew that that was the way it had to be..." Malila said. After a moment she tried to pull away, but I held on tighter.

"I'm sorry." I said again, this time meaning it as an apology. I'm sorry for never realising, I'm sorry that I left you for Sam then left you again for the pack, I'm sorry I put you through so much pain.

"I know." Malila said again, I could clearly hear '_I forgive you'_, laced into her words.

"You should've said someth-..."

"When, Leah?" Malila calmly questioned, "When you developed a huge crush on Sam, which also happened to be the year I 'came out'?" she said those last two words with distaste, "Or when you stopped hanging around with us to follow after Sam and his pack."

I froze, she said pack. She said _pack_! She could've used any other word, any word to describe Sam's 'friends' and she said pack. She knew, didn't she?

"I've known for a while, Leah." Malila said pulling out of my embrace so that she could stand up. I remained on the floor, eyes on the ground. I didn't want to see her reaction, her disgust. Her hand came into my line of vision, waiting for me to take it, and I did.

I stood up with her help, she then pulled me over to her bed, where she sat down, tugging on my arm for me to do the same.

Once I had sat down beside her, I finally lifted my face from the floor, looking into her eyes.

"When?" I asked her, when did you know that I could change into a fricken wolf?

"Two years ago. I did some digging and figured it out. It wasn't that hard Leah. Once you got over the whole thing being 'impossible' and actually started believing that in life some unexplainable things were possible, it was easy to piece together."

"Still doesn't explain how. What was your first clue? What made you want to investigate the situation?" I asked her, shaking my head slightly, I couldn't believe she knew, after all this time.

Though it wouldn't have made a difference, considering Sam ordered us with his almighty Alpha abilities not to breathe a word of this to any outsiders. Still, it would've been nice to be able to go to someone after a difficult day and just be with them, with the knowledge that they know what you're going through. I will get Sam for this.

"Well, firstly, you cut your hair. I remember how much you loved the length of your hair; it was nearly at your waist. Then, the next thing I know is that you've chopped it to reach a few inches above your shoulders!"

"Is that all? That's a vague clue, Malila."

Malila sighed, "No, it wasn't _the_ clue that led me to the final answer. It was just a starting point that had me paying attention to your life."

I nodded my head, indicating for her to continue.

"I think what did it was that fact that you were different. You weren't yourself anymore, you were so...lonely and...and -"

"And a bitch?" I said, with dark humour. It _was_ when Sam had dumped me and dad had died.

"No Leah, you weren't...you _aren't_ a bitch. You were depressed. You weren't with Sam anymore and everyone heard that he left you for Emily, and then your dad died...oh God, Leah...your dad...I'm so sorry..."

I couldn't say anything, Malila's words were hitting home pretty hard...

Malila let out a long sigh, "What it comes down to is this...you are not a bitch, no matter what anyone says...what you went through must have been so painful for you...if that pack of yours says differently then let me at them, plus they _are_ men, poor things that have going against them. How I found out? When Chief Swan's daughter...Bella is it?" Malila paused for my nod of confirmation,

"When Bella disappeared into the woods, a few years back, there was talk of the 'cold ones' leaving Forks. With Sam finding her, and with our local La Push idiots celebrating like the bunch of adolescent males they are, I figured that the stories must be true. That vampires and werewolves, and everything else that goes bump in the night, might actually exist. Plus it made sense from the book I read..."

"What book?" I asked, interrupting her for the first time during her speech.

"Some book on Quileute legends that I found at a bookstore in Port Angeles."

"You brought a book on Quileute legends?" I said with a teasing smirk.

Malila rolled her eyes, "Oh shut up, I knew the elders wouldn't tell me shit, so I had to, didn't I? I mean, it's not like my parents believe it, unless of course they kept it hidden from our generation with exception to the ones who have the wolf gene."

My smirk melted off of my face...

"Wait a minute Malila, if you knew, or had some vague idea of what was going on, why did you treat me like shit?" I asked accusingly, which was fair enough, she can't tell me that she knew what I was going through yet let the fact that she avoided me slide.

Malila's eyes widened at my question, "What? Hang on a minute Leah, you stopped talking to us, remember? You didn't show up for Chloe's birthday, or Kayla's, or even mine. You just stopped talking to us altogether, as if our friendship was something that never existed. Did we not mean anything to you?" Malila asked with hurt lacing through her tone and her eyes.

I looked down in shame. Yes, it was my fault, I could have put in some effort to even try, but with Sam, Emily, the newborns, everything...it was all too much. I made my girls think I didn't like them anymore...I _am_ a bitch.

"I'm s-sorry..." I whispered, my voice breaking, betraying to Malila that I was holding back tears.

I felt arms wrap around me, hugging me, it's been a while since I have been hugged, again my own fault, I rarely let anyone touch me.

"There, there, none of that. I don't want you to cry Leah. It's okay. We are talking again now aren't we?" Malila asked, her voice soothing the tears that were trying to escape.

I nodded.

"Well, there you go...no need to worry."

I smiled, just faintly, but it was still there, on my face. Malila had forgiven me, now I just had to work hard to re-build this friendship. I wasn't going to keep things hidden from her anymore, plus I'm under a new Alpha's command, and Jacob would never force us into something like Sam, so I won't be betraying my pack.

"You seemed, just so... angry. I didn't think you wanted to see me ever again..." I let it out, because it's what I was thinking. I had thought Malila had stopped caring for me, caring whether I was alive or dead.

"Idiot, I was angry and hurt, because I missed you and we weren't friends anymore. Didn't mean I stopped caring Leah, otherwise I wouldn't have been so angry; instead I would've just acted indifferent."

"You _did_ act indifferent."

Malila fixed me with a look, and I remembered that look, it was her 'this is the way it is and that's final' look. "I wasn't indifferent on the inside, just on the surface, end of discussion."

I nodded. It was all I could do. Malila's eyes were also starting to droop, she was tired. If I wasn't a wolf, this conversation and everything I felt in the last half an hour would've also tired me out.

"Someone's sleepy." I said, grinning a little in a mocking sort of way.

"Shut up, I am not." Malila said before yawning and looking away, in hopes of hiding her yawn from me.

"I saw it." I laughed at her.

Malila shook her head, "I don't want you to leave yet..."

"Who said I was going anywhere?" I asked.

Malila looked at me a little surprised, "You'll stay?"

"Sure, I can spend the night."

"It won't...weird you out in any way?"

"What?" I asked confused, just what was Malila referring to?

Malila looked down, apparently finding the floor interesting to look at while she picked on a loose cotton thread that was on her blanket, "You know, sharing the same bed, after you found out that I...um...you know..."

I rolled my eyes, "Malila! I still slept in the same bed as you after you came out! Why would it make a difference after what you just told me? If anything you should be uncomfortable, not me."

Malila shook her head, "No, the closeness won't bother me. I know you're off limits."

"Don't word it that way..." I said, frowning at her choice of words, 'off limits', I scoffed on the inside.

"Sorry..." Malila whispered, looking down again.

I sighed, I shifted my position on the bed and lay back, against her pillows.

"Come here..." I said to her, holding out my arms open for her, waiting for her to enter the embrace.

Malila looked at me and then raised an eyebrow as if asking if I was serious or not.

"Get your ass here Anevay!" I said impatiently.

Malila smirked and lay down on to me, her back against my chest. Her head just reaching my jaw, so that she could bury her face into my neck if she turned around. Malila always liked sleeping like that, it made her felt...'hidden', yes, hidden and safe, that was the best way to describe it.

I wrapped my arms around her so that they rested on her stomach; she placed her hands over mine. Unfortunately this was as close as we will ever get physically, it was all I could give her and that made me feel guilty, because Malila deserved to get whatever she wanted, even if it was something or someone as pathetic and broken as me.

I realised that we never reached the topic of why I was crying outside of her house in the first place. We went completely off topic; typical. But I guess the most important things got spoken out first. It is better that we both emotionally adjust to what happened between us tonight, before I spill anything else about my messed up life.

I turned my face to look down at the head resting on my collarbone.

"Malila..." I whispered, half hoping she was already asleep, the other half hoping she was still conscious enough to understand and remember what I was about to tell her.

"Yeah?" she answered back sleepily.

"I just want you to know, in any other lifetime, any other situation or scenario, it would've been you. It would've been no one else but you." I said against her hair.

"Thankyou..." she whispered before completely dosing off, with a small smile on her face.

I felt bad that I didn't love her, that I couldn't when I had the chance, but you see, the thing is, even if I could go back in time, I still wouldn't have changed a thing.

Because in the end I would've become a wolf, ruined our relationship because I couldn't tell her, as she wasn't my imprintee, and then I would've broken her heart when I would have left her for Crista. Just like how Sam left me for Emily.

Meeting Crista was inevitable; it was our fate and destiny to meet, it was unavoidable. And I would rather I make Sam and myself suffer through the ugly ending of our relationship a thousand times over than ever leave someone like Malila for a girl I imprinted on.

I love and respect Malila too much to ever put her through that.

___**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**_

_Narrator's POV - _

Crista opened her eyes after her hearing clarified that her surroundings were safe. Even though they were vampires, and even though Crista wasn't afraid of fire, it didn't mean she wanted burning embers flying into her eyes. She already couldn't heal, she didn't want to see what would happen if her eyes burnt.

"Crista?" Came Alice's voice, as she held out a hand to help Crista up, "Are you okay?"

Crista nodded and took Alice's hand, standing up, and then turned her attention away from the Cullens, Jake and Sam, who were all starting to form together next to her.

Instead, Crista watched the still burning pile of rubble that the fire fighters were putting out, where Aramis' and Simara's ashes were somewhere buried, as everything that she and the others had been through tonight accumulated her thoughts.

The blast had pushed them all into the small forest located behind the building, lucky, as the sun was starting to rise and it would have been very hard to explain the sparkling skin to any human who laid their eyes on them.

Standing there and watching those flames, Crista, somehow, felt free. Not happy, but like a few things were starting to make sense, which lifted some of the weight she carried off her shoulders. It was nice... a nice feeling.

"Yo Jake! You took your sweat ass time getting to us." Emmett said to the young wolf next to him.

"Dude, we went up against a pack of wolves, just Sam and I, two against five!" Jake said, defending himself and Sam.

"Yeah, and you have been up against newborns, so hypothetically speaking, you should've kicked their asses in no time at all." Emmett said with a triumphant grin.

"Emmett! They were at least sixty years older than us! That's sixty years of experience, of fighting you icy pale faces! Comprehendo?"

"Icy pale faces? Dude! That name sucks, even blood suckers or leeches has more charm."

Jacob rolled his eyes, "I will work on it."

"So, that battle was, uh, different." Bella said, as she made her way over to Edward, who placed his arm around her.

"'Fire...is also my element! It's going to be hard for you to kill me or intimidate me.'" Emmett said dramatically, causing everyone to laugh, and bringing Crista's attention back to the present. "Damn Crista, you talk tough! Nicely done girl!" He said before slapping Crista on the back with pride.

Crista rolled her eyes at Emmet and shook her head, smiling along with everyone else. Then a thought occurred to Crista, wiping the smile off her face.

What now? What will she do with her life, now that she wasn't on the run from anyone hunting her? Her whole vampiric existence had been revolved around her running, what does one do with themselves when they have nothing to run from?

She had nowhere to go, no one to go to. These melancholy thoughts really depressed her, hitting her like a massive wave.

Then Crista felt something else, a wave of happiness washed over her. She looked over at the Cullens, Sam and Jake and put everything together. She wasn't alone, not if she really wanted to be. But how does one ask such a question like the one that was lingering on her mind?

Jasper stood next to Crista and whispered in her ear, so that only she could hear him.

"You know, you could just ask." His southern accent voiced.

Crista turned her head to glance at him, and grinned at Jasper gratefully, before sucking in a breath of air and turning towards Carlisle and Esme.

"I...I know I don't... d-deserve this, but...I was wondering if...I-I mean only if it's okay, if I could be a part of..." Crista let out a sigh and looked back at Jasper, who just smiled at her and nodded for her to finish her sentence, she turned her head back around towards Carlisle and Esme again, "...of your f-family?" Crista asked, head held down.

"There's no need to ask Crista, you've been part of this family since the moment you almost out did Emmett in strength." Carlisle said gently, with a smile, his words causing Crista's head to snap up, eyes opened wide, holding disbelief and happiness at their acceptance of her.

"Hey! It was raining! And there was mud!" Emmett said, trying poorly to defend himself.

Everyone chuckled at this.

"Anyway, we have a habit of adopting trouble makers into this family, hey Bells? So you'll fit right in, you couldn't possibly bring as much trouble as Bella did anyway, so don't worry about it, now sweat new sis." Emmett said, with a grin, which was quickly wiped off his face when Bella stomped on his foot. "Ouch! Hey!"

"You did ask for it..." Rosalie said as she tried without much success to wipe the soot off her clothes. "Crap, this won't come out."

"Rose, picture it like this, at least now we have a perfect excuse for shopping!" Alice squealed with excitement.

"Like we ever needed a reason to begin with." Rose answered.

"Yeah well, still,_ and_ we can shop for Crista now too! Yes! A whole new wardrobe!" Alice exclaimed while fist punching the air.

"Don't worry, shopping with Alice isn't as bad as everyone says it is. But Crista, you are welcome into this family on one condition..." Esme said, causing Crista to stiffen from nervousness, "You let us hear that beautiful voice of yours more often." Esme smiled at her and lightly and quickly gripped Crista's chin, in a motherly and affectionate way.

"Promise." Crista said, her voice holding so much gratitude to her new family.

"Welcome to the pack." Said Jacob with a toothy smile.

___**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**_

_Narrator's POV - _

The sun was high in the sky by the time the burning rubble had died down completely. Ash starting lifting from the ground, moving like a vortex, in a circular pattern, until it started to focus at one point in its centre and glow, after a bright flash burst outwards, a solid body had formed.

A solid body made up of long silver hair, red eyes and extremely pale skin. Said figure looked at his surroundings, the burning rubble that once stood as a building.

He lifted his hand before him, palm out, causing a pile of ash to rise, and spin like a vortex, just like moments before. As he saw the sight of his mate forming from her remains, he smirked at his thought; his future was looking to be even better.

"You think this is over?" Aramis asked to no one in particular, "Not a chance..."

**__****-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

**Readers! I'm sooo sorry! I know this was waaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy overdue! So much has happened the past few months, besides uni and exams driving me nuts, I was struggling with myself a lot, about the person that I am, I finally 'came out' to my best friend, she is the only one who knows now. Scariest thing I've ever done, ever. Only problem is, is that I told her when she was drunk because she knew I'd been telling her for ages that I had something important to tell her and when she's drunk, she is persistent as ...um anyone persistent you know, well times that by 100! -_- Anyway, she called me the next day and said, 'You know that thing you've been meaning to tell me? Well I remember you telling me it, but I don't remember 'what' you told me.' -_- seriously? **

**I have the WORST luck! I refused to tell her on the phone (no way I was going through THAT again anytime soon!) as she asked me what it was, and I said to her, it will come back to you, and when it does, if you are still interested in being friends, you know where to find me. She calls me two days later and that conversation lifted a massive weight that I've been struggling with for 2 years now, off my shoulders. I love my bestie, she is amazing and soo accepting and should be a psychologist for the advice she gave me was BEYOND her years! ^_^ **

**So I hope this long ass chapter had made up for some of the wait, I will try and update more regularly, it's not like I don't write at all, i write snippets whenever inspiration hits! I've already written future scenes as well as the ending of this plus a scene that will surprise you when you eventually read it! Anyway, thanks for putting up with me. Obrigada! And HEAPS of love! ^_^**

**Ps. Character name pronunciations –**

**Aramis – A-rai-mis**

**Simara – Sim-ai-ra**

**Malila – Muh-li-la**

**And I would put one up for Xiras, but how the HELL does one spell the sound that the letter X makes at the beginning of a word?**

**I put these here because when I read fics i tend to pronounce names wrong and then when I learn the pronunciation correctly it annoys me because then I have to adapt to saying it the right way (which I force myself to do until I get it right). **

**For instance – **

**I use to read 'Sasuke' (from the Naruto manga) as Sa-su-key (coz i read the fanfiction for Naruto BEFORE I read the manga or saw the show), instead of Sas-kay. **

**And when I read Twilight for the first time (God this is embarrassing) I read Carlisle as Car-lis-lay, instead of Car-lie-il. ****-_- (I know I suck) :D**


	10. Night Fever

_**Chapter 10 – Night Fever**_

**Hola readers! Thanks heaps for your support and reviews! You guys are, to put it simply, amazing! Here is the chapter you have been waiting for! It's a whopping 41 pages! Hope it doesn't disappoint! :) And I'm really sorry about this being late. **

**Warning: Swearing. You have been warned. This chapter deals with a very pissed off she-wolf! :D**

_**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**_

"_**Something's wrong, shut the light, heavy thoughts tonight, and they aren't of snow white, dreams of war, dreams of lies, dreams of dragons fire." **_

_**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**_

_Crista's POV - _

"_Happy birthday Crista! Make a wish, miha."_

"_Then hurry and open your presents!"_

_**-o-o-o-o-o-**_

"_Crista, I'm proud of you, you know that."_

_**-o-o-o-o-o-**_

"_Hey, do you think Papi would get mad if I used his hat for fishing?"_

"_Yes. Why can't you use the fishing rod I made you?"_

"_I accidentally sat on it and broke it?"_

"_Idiota!"_

_**-o-o-o-o-o-**_

"_You know what? I think you are just jealous of me."_

"_You know what? I think you're a narcissist."_

_**-o-o-o-o-o-**_

"_Hola. That's 'hello' right? Don't worry about him, he treats everyone like that."_

"_You're different from most people..."_

"_How so?"_

"_You treat me and the others like me with respect."_

"_Well, why shouldn't I? We are all the same are we not? We just have different jobs."_

"_Different paying jobs."_

"_That shouldn't matter either."_

"_Thank you."_

"_No problemo. That's Spanish right?"_

"_Haha, yeah, close enough."_

_**-o-o-o-o-o-**_

"_Crista is it? You can call me Xiras."_

_**-o-o-o-o-o-**_

"_...Xiramas..."_

"_...who sired you..."_

"_...he was my brother..."_

"_...you killed him..."_

"_...he sired himself a mate..."_

"_...our paths connect..."_

"_...call it an eye for an eye...he did kill your family..."_

"_...kill your family..."_

"_...he was incredibly naive..."_

"_...able to kill my brother..."_

"_...you are a complete mystery..."_

"_...study you..."_

"_...powerful weapon..."_

"_...speak...or they die..."_

"_...kill your family..."_

"_...kill your family..."_

"_...kill your family..."_

"_You think this is over?"_

I bolted upright, and leaped out of bed, landing on the floor in a crouch. With my eyes wide I looked around my new bedroom for any signs of danger. If I were alive, my heart would be beating so fast.

I let out a sigh and fell back, lying down on the ground. What the hell was the point in me even trying to sleep if my conscious visits bad memories?

I heard Jasper and Edward dash up the stairs and stop outside my door.

"Uh, Crista? Are you okay in there?" Edward asked with concern.

Hn, obviously he read my thoughts and could see what I was dreaming about. I hated that he could do that. It actually made me feel really exposed and naked. Well, as long as he didn't share what he saw of my 'dreams' with anyone else, then I guess I could live with that.

What I couldn't live with was Jasper controlling my emotions every morning. And instead of feeling angry at this thought I was content! He was doing it again!

'_I'm fine thanks Edward, but please tell Jasper to stop! I won't snap and kill anyone, promise._'

I heard Edward pull at Jasper's arm, leading him back downstairs.

"What?" Jasper's voice asked.

"Don't do that, she doesn't like it." Edward said.

"But..."

"No, we need to show her that we can trust her. They are her memories Jasper. We _have_ to feel pain sometimes. Don't worry, let her go, you'll know when she really needs your help."

Edward hearing thoughts was useful in one way. It meant I didn't have to speak. Even though I have started talking again, I still prefer not to. Funny what you get use to.

It has been two weeks since I was 'adopted' into the Cullen family. Two weeks since Aramis, two weeks since I found out that Xiras...

No, I didn't want to think about it. Every time I do, I feel so much anger, to the point where I'm scared I will lose myself to it and do something stupid. I can't risk that. I don't want to fall back into that cold, dark cave of depression that my mind likes to linger to, where there is no light, no hope, nothing.

I will not lose myself again. I don't want to live how I have been the past 70 or so years. But I don't know how _else_ to live.

Edward said that it will take time, and not to worry about it. He said time heals certain things, but that doesn't explain how I am still just as angry about my family's death, as I was the day I had found them. The only thing that seems to settle my nerves is that I killed Xiras, my family's killer, along with Aramis and Simara.

It's the only thought that keeps me sane nowadays, which is depressing, but it's all I've got left and I have to hold onto that for as long as I can.

_**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**_

_Leah's POV – _

_The wolf was my pet, at least that's what it felt like. Sometimes it was black, other times grey. It was black now. _

_The black wolf growled at me, baring its sharp teeth, as if showing me what it was equipped with, warning me that if I fight I will get hurt. _

_I growled back, it growled again, I backed down in fear. I didn't want to get hurt. I didn't want it to tear my face off. _

_Then the wolf seemed content, it lay on me and fell asleep. I could speak to her and she understood me. My body was getting warm, very warm, it was almost unbearable – _

Urgh, why is it so hot in here? I pushed my covers off my body and sat up...well at least I tried to. No sooner as I got myself into a sitting position I got a dizzy spell and had to lie back down. I have been like this for the past week and its driving me nuts. The constant headaches didn't help either.

Plus, waking up in a cold sweat was never fun. It was either too hot or too cold, or both at the same time. I don't get it. I don't have a temperature; at least, my forehead says I don't. If I didn't know any better I swear I was coming down with some nasty fever. Yet it felt different than the average fever, so I dismissed the thought.

I sighed as I sat up slowly and looked towards the strong source of light in my room. Mum had been in here, she must've have been collecting potential items for laundry, as usual, as my curtains were drawn open, revealing that annoying ball of light that is called 'Sun', hiding behind an overcast day.

I let out an annoyed huff and lay back down. I had told mum _not_ to open my curtains if I'm still asleep! It annoys me having to wake up to a bedroom full of light. Even though Forks was mostly cloudy all year round, the sun light still pissed me off first thing in the morning. I didn't care how dim the light was, the curtains stay shut until after I wake up!

I paused my angsty thoughts for a moment, as my heart beat was accelerating, which meant I was pissed off and getting myself roused up for no reason. That's another thing that has been happening a lot lately. I'm getting angry a lot more easily and my already short temper was still shortening.

Yes, I get moody and pissed off easily, but this was different. I was getting angry to the point where I lost control of my shape and turned into a wolf. I have been through so many clothes the past few days alone, that I actually had to go to Port Angeles to shop! Yes, me plus shopping.

I looked up at my ceiling, my eyes focusing on the dream catcher I had hanging up there. It was big, 100 centimetres long, and hanging from a hook that dad had nailed up there for me. There were five hexagonal shaped hoops, with gold threading for the webs. Purple and white feathers were hanging from them, with small pieces of broken mirror placed here and there to reflect light.

Seth and I had made it almost five years ago. It was dad's idea. He told me I should be doing more things with my baby brother, to 'bond'. So we made a dream catcher. Seth has one too, except his feathers are green.

I loved watching it move, it gently swayed to the light breeze coming through my open window. It relaxed me. Weird, I know, but it did. Speaking of dream catchers...animal dreams...that is all it has been like for the past two weeks for me. All I dream about are animals, but particular animals.

Wolves and lions, that's all I have been dreaming about. Sometimes I am the animal, other times I am part of their family, and sometimes I am merely a bystander, watching the animals as they hunt or nuzzle with their young or mates. Weird, very weird, because they don't fit my normal dream patterns at all.

I sat up again and got out of bed. I felt wretched. I think I probably _am_ coming down with something. Yet, why was it taking me so long to actually get the damn fever? Two weeks of symptoms was ridiculous.

I walked to the bathroom, locked the door and stripped off my sleep wear. I turned the faucet of the shower and tilted my head back, so that my entire face could have the warm water wash over it. It made me feel better.

I suddenly lost balance. I opened my eyes in response and placed my hands on the tiled wall, to stop me from falling. I shook my head, but the sensation didn't leave me. So I sat down and hugged my knees to my chest as the water continued to flow onto me.

I will just sit here until the sensation leaves me. I didn't have anywhere to be and it rained nearly every fricken day here, so it's not like water is in short supply.

I breathed in and out deeply, hoping to relax my body. These dizzy spells were beginning to worry me. No one had noticed them...yet...which is good. Thank God for that. I didn't want to be forced to see a doctor, I _hate_ doctors.

My watery and peaceful world was abruptly brought to an end, as I heard a loud knock on the bathroom door.

"Leah!"

I groaned, "Yes mum?" I answered back annoyed, I knew that tone, guess I wouldn't be staying in here any longer, so much for a relaxing day of doing nothing.

"The pack needs you! Hurry with your shower so you can eat breakfast and meet up with them."

See what I mean? Damn it...

I went on all fours and stood up slowly, so that my brain could get use to the change in position. I turned off the water and wrapped myself in a towel.

I looked in the bathroom mirror at my reflection and I was startled by it. I had dark circles around my eyes even though I wasn't really that tired at all and my eyes, they looked...dead...like they had no life in them anymore. What the hell...what is happening to me?

_**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**_

_Crista's POV –_

Clonk, clonk, clonk. That was the only prominent sound that was filling the unusually quiet kitchen this morning; the sound of beautifully carved green and brown stone, which formed the world wide known pieces of a chess board, hitting its chequered stone surface.

As I was sitting at the breakfast bar, while watching Edward and Bella play chess, I got a weird vibe from everyone in the kitchen; it had been like this for nearly an hour.

Even though the Cullens and the Quileute wolves (who were here having breakfast), haven't said anything within my hearing range, I could tell something was bothering them. They were keeping something from me.

Had I done something wrong? I thought back to the last two weeks of my permanent stay here. I couldn't recall doing anything that could vastly bother anyone under this roof.

I had made sure to behave and help when I can. I stayed off of their radar unless they needed me for something. I didn't want my existence to become any more of a nuisance than it already was for them.

Edward suddenly growled and I buried my face in my hand, forgetting that I shouldn't have been thinking thoughts I want kept entirely to myself.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Edward. Esme had paused from cooking her third round of breakfast for the boys, Rosalie and Alice paused from their discussion on something called 'this month's Vogue', Jacob, Seth, Quil and Embry stopped eating, Bella frowned at her husband and Emmett stopped cleaning a part from the Jeep's engine.

"I'm sorry." I muttered under my breath, I didn't want anyone angry at Edward, it was me being the idiot.

"Don't be. This isn't something we should even be going through. So there is no need to think such things." Edward said quietly before resuming his game with Bella.

The kitchen waited a few seconds for Edward to continue or elaborate. He didn't. Brilliant, now we are going to have someone, probably Emmett, ask 'what the hell' was going on.

"Hey! Don't stop there! What the hell is going on?" Emmett asked expectantly. See what I mean?

"Nothing to concern yourselves with." Edward answered back, his eyebrows furrowed in deep concentration. It seemed that he wasn't use to losing at chess, as he had never played with anyone who could guard themselves before.

"Pfft, what's up your ass?" Emmett snapped back, it seems he didn't like being kept in the dark.

"...Most of his black chess pieces." Jacob said, before he took a sip of juice.

Everyone snickered at Jacob's insult, including me, talk about hitting two birds with one stone.

"Nicely done." Rose complimented Jake, before continuing her conversation with Alice.

As I was going over the thoughts in my head, I breathed in and out, calming myself down, before I looked over at Edward. Our eyes met and he nodded. That nod either meant he approved, or that it was a good idea. Probably both.

"Can I ask something?" I said, addressing the entire kitchen.

Everyone paused for the second time, all eyes were on me. Great, this didn't make me feel intimidated or self conscious at all.

"Why does everyone cease conversation when I am within hearing range? Did I do something?" I felt like such an idiot asking such questions, but if Edward approved...

For some reason, everyone's eyes turned to Jacob, who paused mid air of having another sip of juice.

"Really? Now?" He asked, looking uncomfortable while meeting each and every gaze that was upon him, until he met Edward's. Edward's confirmation was probably what he was looking for, as Jacob let out a sigh and looked towards me.

"Crista, sit down..." He started to say politely.

"I'd rather stand." I answered, I knew I wasn't going to like whatever it was that would come out of his mouth. I could feel it.

"Hmph, already acting like her as well." Jacob muttered under his breath.

"Excuse me?" I asked defensively, who did I act like?

"Jake!" Bella had said at the same time I had spoken.

"Okay, sorry...just saying..." Jacob said before clearing his throat with a cough and looking back at me. "Crista..."

I felt my eyebrows rise in retaliation to him saying my name, I still wasn't use to hearing my name out loud and the way he had said it was as if he was the bearer of bad news. If only I had known how bad...

"Werewolves, all the wolves like me, all go through something. It happens only once, and we don't know when it is meant to happen, it just does when we see a particular person..."

"Jake, please don't sugar-coat it, I can take it." I said. I could see him carefully selecting his words, thinking before he spoke. It didn't suit him, he was brash and to the point, well from what I have witnessed of him. I guess in some cases he _did_ choose his words properly if his directness was a sense of deliberate display.

"...Fine, okay... look, something happens to werewolves called 'imprinting', which I take you have never heard of before...?" He paused to analyse my face, I gave him an incredulous look in response.

"Well imprinting is what happens when a werewolf sees their soul mate for the first time. It is a very strong, very intense feeling and we know what it is when it's happening to us because that person that we imprinted on becomes 'our everything'. They become our sole reason for existence. We feel whole, complete and very much in love." Jacob said, without taking a breath, he really knew how to transform feelings to words.

I nodded, absorbing his information, and then something clicked in my head... "That's the relationship you have with Renesmee isn't it? She's your soul mate? Your... imprintee?"

Jacob's eyebrows rose in surprise, as did many of the others in the room.

"How do you figure?" Jacob asked, "I could just really care for my best friend's daughter..."

I shook my head, already having an answer... "An idiot can tell... I see the way you look at her and how protective you are of her, like how you never left her side on my first night here; but mostly, as I said, it's all in your eyes..."

"Yeah I guess your right...anyway, the reason I am telling you this _now_ is...uh...well..." Jacob looked to Edward, begging with his eyes for him to take over.

Edward let out a sigh and nodded. "Crista, someone has imprinted on _you_."

Everyone's reactions were unanimous, Rose and Alice dropped their magazines, the rest of the wolf pack dropped their forks on the table with a resulting, loud clatter, Emmett's engine part landed on his foot – basically anyone holding something, had dropped it. It was probably because of the shock of Edward's direct bluntness as well as apprehension for my taking of the news.

_They_ were shocked? _They_ were uneasy? Could you imagine what was going through _my_ head?

_**FLASHBACK**_** – **

_I woke up panting from another bad dream...wait...panting? Since when do vampires pant? Our hearts and lungs don't work. I've never panted before in my entire vampiric existence. I felt like I was out of breath. It was...such a missed feeling. I haven't felt so close to being human in so long. It was nice. _

_I would have enjoyed the feeling a lot more if my conscience wasn't bothering me as to why I was suddenly feeling so...alive? Then I noticed something else, which made me bolt up instantly into a sitting position. One of the scents that my nose was detecting didn't belong here. There is a trespasser amongst us. _

_I narrowed my eyes and used my memory to separate the scent from the rest of the Cullen family. It wasn't a scent coming from any of their rooms, and it wasn't a new scent that belonged to them, because neither of their scents was lingering with it. I turned my head. It was coming from outside, right outside my window. This should have panicked me, because what if it was someone of relation to Aramis and Simara seeking revenge on me and the Cullens? _

_It wasn't though, because I have smelt this scent before, before Washington, before Aramis and that ridiculous battle. Yet not before I arrived in Forks. I let out a low growl when I realised who the scent belonged to..._

_*/*/*/*/*_

"_So how long will you be staying here?" _

"_We don't know yet, she will reside with us for as long as she wishes." _

"_What about her coven? Or her family? Doesn't she have any?" _

"_She probably ate them and then ran away." _

_*/*/*/*/*_

_...ate them..._

_...ran away..._

"_She probably ate them and then ran away." _

_That judgemental little she-wolf? Leah was it? My inner vampire sparked to life in an instant. I was angry and I had yet to tell her off for her inappropriate...'comment.'_

_I'll get her...I was about to jump out the window and give her a piece of my mind when I felt a wave of calm overcome me. I turned around and saw Jasper standing at the door. Lucky Edward was at his cottage with Bella, otherwise I'd be 'in the shit', as Emmett likes to say. _

_I forced my face to be neutral and raised an eyebrow questioningly at Jasper. I didn't want Jasper to know that I knew she was there. Even though I knew that he knew that she was there, yet he probably knew that I knew that he knew she was there...wait...I forgot where I was going with this-_

"_Crista?" Jasper asked._

_What did he want? He was just standing at the door, but his manner implied something...oh..._

"_Come in Jasper, it's your house." I said before sitting back down on my bed. I almost rolled my eyes at his...courtesy. He only walked in a few metres and stopped. _

"_Are you alright? You were angry before..." He trailed off suggestively. Perhaps he wanted me to tell him without him having to ask me to tell him...tch... weird guy, yet very considerate._

"_...I had nightmares...again." I muttered, looking down. I wasn't a great liar. Not because I felt guilty of lying, hell no! Why I am angry is my business unless I'm willing to share, I looked down because my eyes could never lie. Jasper, who was from the civil war times, making him as old as me, has been living with vampires his whole 'dead' life, so my guess is, he probably could tell when he was being lied to a lot better, then say Jacob and his wolf pack. _

_And as a side note, the rest of the Cullens are much more older than Jasper, one can see the future, one can read minds, and two are parents, which means my lying days are either over or I have to get better at lying...mierda, I have to get better at lying. _

"_Uh huh." He responded, did he sound, sceptical of me? See, I knew he knew!_

"_Well, if you need someone to talk to, your family are down stairs..." He trailed off, before leaving the room._

_No, my family are dead. I thought bitterly. I sighed, turned off my lamp and then turned my head towards the window. I got up carefully, in case any sound reached Jasper's ears, and looked out the window. It was pitch black, but no thanks to vampire eyes, I could see clearly. _

_Leah, that melancholy, wolf woman was sitting at the edge of the forest, just hidden beneath the trees, yet as close to my window as possible. What the hell? What was she doing here? She was simply sitting on the forest floor, back leaning against a tree trunk, and her arms were wrapping themselves around her body. _

_She appeared to be cold, yet she wasn't shivering. It was a cold night tonight, but as far as I have observed, Jacob was never bothered with the cold, so what was wrong with this one?_

_I shook my head at the sight of her, and moved back to my bed. As long as she doesn't come any closer or try to talk to me, she can sit out in the cold for as long as she likes._

_**END FLASHBACK - **_

_Edward's POV - _

Wow. I didn't think Crista was capable of such language. She was swearing, in her head, in Spanish. She was angry. Her outer appearance? Well anyone else who wasn't me or Jasper would think that Crista was just shocked from the information, as her mouth was hanging open.

"Who?" Crista managed to finally ask, the question that had 'doom' as an answer.

Everyone looked at me. Honestly, why did I have to do all the dirty work? All their faces, they actually looked depressed, like they knew that this next bit of information to come out of my mouth would hurt Crista.

Well, everyone except for Emmett, who was leaning against the counter with a small smile on his face, happy that Crista was finally being told. It may appear that he is heartless, but he isn't, the idiot highly believes that Crista and Leah match well.

"Edward. Who?" Crista asked, her voice, firm, strong and slightly angered.

"Leah Clearwater." I answered, after that, time momentarily froze and we could almost see the wheels in Crista's head spinning, putting together everything that Jacob and I had just told her.

"You mean that she-wolf that lingers outside my bedroom window _every_ night? The one that I nearly killed when I met the pack?" Crista asked in disbelief and shock.

"So you noticed huh?" Emmett asked, with slight amusement etching his voice. Yes, the bastard would find this funny.

"Which vampire wouldn't?" Crista responded angrily. "And how could I not? I could smell her!"

"Crista, calm down this isn't anything bad-..." Alice started to say before the look Crista gave her stopped her mid way as she analysed Crista's face. "It doesn't have to be." Alice finished off saying.

"But it _is_..." Crista said, defending herself, her voice dripping with venom, even though she was whispering. Everyone looked surprised as to_ why_ Crista was getting mad, why was Jasper letting her? It was because I told him not to. It wasn't healthy suppressing ones' emotions, better out than in.

The next thought that crossed Crista's mind made me cringe, but before I could react, she vanished without a trace, having jumped out of the open kitchen window. If we weren't vampires, we would've missed it.

"Aside from the fact that Leah and Crista had started off on wrong terms, why else is she pissed off?" Emmett asked with curiosity evident in his voice, as well as a hint of concern. _Now_ he shows concern.

I didn't answer, whether he was talking to me or not.

''_Becomes our everything?' I will never be forced to love someone just because she is my 'soul mate'...that is unfair to us both...' _Was what Crista had thought before she had fled.

_**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**_

_Leah's POV – _

"Excuse me?" I asked hotly, damn bastards know how to piss me off! They call me here, to talk about that? And what pissed me off more than anything was the fact that many of them had just come from the Cullen's house, I could _smell _her on them.

"Leah, calm down! We are just telling you as it is." Jacob said calmly.

"No! Damn it! What you're saying is based on a lot of guesses. No hard facts! I have been doing fine without her! I have hardly thought about her in two weeks! I don't need her to survive!" I yelled.

"Will you listen to yourself? You are talking a lot of shit." Paul said with impatience and anger tinting his tone.

"Fuck you Paul." I said with venom, straight to his face.

"What did you say to me?"

"Whoa, calm down, both of you! That's an order!" Jacob said, his voice commanding and strong. "I mean it Paul!" He said, pointing a finger at Paul who had started to approach me. Let me at him! I will kick the bastard's ass if he got close enough.

"Leah, listen to us, please. This thing, what you are going through, it's only going to get worse." Seth had started to say.

"What do you know about it? You haven't imprinted yet." I snapped at him.

Seth kept quiet after that. I should have felt bad but I didn't, I don't give a shit.

"Leah, don't talk to Seth like that..." Sam had started to say.

"Don't you _dare_ say anything to me, you understand?" I yelled at him with ferocity. I didn't need _him _telling me what to do.

Sam just looked down, avoiding the anger in my eyes, serves him right...

"Leah, if you didn't need her, then why do you sleep outside of her window every night?" Jacob asked, looking me straight in the eyes.

I gasped. It felt like I had just gotten slapped in the face! How dare he...

"How...?" I tried asking, but my mouth was having problems forming words due to embarrassment and shock.

"Relax. It's nothing to be ashamed of." Jacob started to say, but I didn't listen. He just wounded my pride. He could have said it elsewhere, not in front of my brother, or Sam, or dicks like Paul. I saw red.

I felt my body start to shake violently, and in no time at all, I had transformed. I growled at Jacob, who hadn't moved from his spot to avoid me, like the others did, and jumped him. I had him on his back, pushing him deep into the earth as I could.

"Leah, stop it." He asked, he didn't order me. I wanted to see how far I could push him until he had to break his promise. Let's see what it takes for the Alpha to order his pack. How far would I have to go?

I extracted my claws as far as they could go, blood started to surface, I could smell it, as I penetrated the skin on his chest.

"Leah, last chance. I'm warning you now to stop." He said, glaring at my yellow eyes.

I snarled at him, daring him to do his worst.

He, without a doubt, took that as my final answer, as seconds later a large wolf body was underneath me, growling back, before it roughly pushed me off.

I landed on all fours, and stood my ground.

'_Come on Jake. Take a swing at me, I dare you.'_

'_I will. Don't think I will go easy on you.' _

'_I don't expect special treatment just because I'm a girl.'_

'_Good, because you won't find any here.'_

'_There never was any to begin with!'_ I thought, before lunging at him.

Our jaws collided, teeth grazing each other's snouts. I pulled back and went for his leg instead. I caught him in a strong grasp, not planning on letting go at all.

He figured this as much, and used his head to 'punch' me in the ribs. It literally knocked the wind out of me, forcing me to release his leg. I turned back around to face him, and swiped, creating four claw marks on his shoulder blade.

I then jumped on him, causing us to roll around on the forest floor as we dangerously wrestled.

Normally, wolves within the same pack can't really fight each other as we can hear each other's thoughts, but, if you're good, and I mean 'if you're good', you can let your instinct entirely take over, and fighting becomes second nature that you don't even need to think about it.

That's what was happening with Jake and I. Lucky for the both of us we have been so heartbroken to the point where we had practice doing such a thing, letting the 'wolf' take over. There was no thinking, just doing, no reason, no second guessing, just running towards the target with only that killer instinct being important.

"Guys! Cut it out! This is stupid!" Seth yelled, as he was being held back by Quil and Embry. "Hey, let me go! Someone has to stop them!"

"No, they both need to learn a lesson here..." Quil muttered.

Jacob let out a growl before lunging at me. On a normal day, I could have easily bypassed him, but not today. Today, I wasn't feeling myself, what with the dizzy spells, weird dreams and headaches. He got me all right, and it surprised him so much you could see it etched in his wolf features.

Using his paws, Jacob had knocked me against the thick trunk of a tree, my head being the body-part which had nicely softened the blow for the rest of my body.

I saw stars, or, more like little different coloured dots, as I shut my eyes from the pain. Like I said, I can take a hit, but not today. I felt three deep scratches on my right cheek, where one of his paws had landed, and blood from my forehead running down my nose...nose? What happened to my snout?

I opened my eyes and looked down, my eyes meeting my naked, dark skinned body. I was human once again. When had I commanded myself to change back? I don't think I did.

I didn't even care that I was naked in front of them, it was something I had to get use to with this gig, but still, lucky my knees were held up against my chest and covering all of my...assets.

I looked back up at Jacob, who had changed back, put his spare pair of trousers on and was approaching me. He was angry.

"You see what I mean?" He yelled, stopping a metre or two in front of me, "Look at you! You changed back without commanding it! You are moody, you're tired, dizzy, probably in pain, and your performance is showing it!"

"I thought I was always moody..." I said with venom in my voice as I glared at him.

"Shut up Leah! Why aren't you taking this seriously?" Seth yelled, hot tears in his eyes and running down his cheeks, he was still being held back by Quil and Embry.

"Because! Only when it starts affecting the pack do any of you _boys _then decide to give a shit about what happens to me! I'm tired of it! There are no allies for females in this _fraternity_, is there? There never was!" I had started to say everything, everything that had been bothering me for a long time, now was a good time as any to let it all out.

"Leah, don't say that..." Jacob had started to say.

"Can it Jake! I don't want to hear your reasoning or defence for this pack. I'd rather you slap me in the face, it would be less insulting!" There, that shut him up! I looked to my right, to find my t-shirt and shorts ripped to shreds on the ground.

I slowly started straightening my knees away from my body, so that I could stand up and get them. No sooner had I my calves touched the ground I saw a pair of jean shorts fall onto my legs.

I looked up and saw Jacob, standing in front of me but looking straight ahead, he was shielding my naked form from the rest of the pack, so that I could cover myself before standing.

This act alone calmed down the fiery anger that still wanted to erupt from my body.

I frowned at the fabric at my legs, it must have been one of the other boys' spares that some have taken the habit into carrying around, like Jake. They offered it to me, within seconds. Why only now, did they show such chivalry?

I picked up the shorts, a scent reached my nose, I hesitated, I knew that scent far too well. It was Sam's. I couldn't reject them without looking like a bitch, so I slipped them on, then used my right arm to lay across my chest, covering my cleavage.

Before I even thought about my next move, Jacob was at my side, his arm around my waist, as he lifted me off the ground. I wrapped my free arm around his neck as I stood up. My legs were a bit wobbly, and Jacob never left my side, he stayed by me, because if he didn't, I would've fallen back down.

His chivalry felt like more than just that, it ran deeper; it felt like care, concern and respect.

"You have to go and see her, Leah. She knows you imprinted on her, she knows you stay by her window. You have to start developing this relationship, before it kills you." Jacob muttered near my ear, under his breath, so that the others couldn't hear.

"Or before she kills me...she hates me..." I said, choking on tears that were trying to escape. I looked down in shame. I hated crying, it was a fucking weakness I could do without.

I felt Jacob nod at the pack in front of us. The next thing I knew, they had left the clearing, giving Jacob and I some privacy.

I looked up at Jacob, who was shaking his head at my words. "I don't think she hates you..."

"How did she react when you told her?" I asked, preparing myself for the blow.

Jacob sighed and looked hesitant. I knew it.

"She got mad and then ran off. But Edward and I spoke afterwards. He said what seemed to piss Crista off the most about the whole situation wasn't the fact that it was you who imprinted on her, it was the imprinting in general. She hates the idea of it." Jacob said quickly, probably thinking I would get upset if he didn't justify Crista quickly.

I snorted in response, "She's not the only one."

"Come on, Leah. It's not that bad."

"Yes it is Jake!"

"Why?"

I paused looking away from his gaze and kept my focus on the tree that I had been thrown against not moments before, it had three claw marks embedded into the bark, made by the same exact motion that had clawed my cheek.

"Because I have no say in it..." I was finally able to say, before breaking down crying.

Jake pulled me against him, and stroked the back of my neck as I cried into his chest.

_**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**_

_Bella's POV – _

I sighed, bored already at our topic of conversation. I had no idea so many of us had trust issues. And Renesmee could tell that this was getting on my nerves.

"Look, if we do this, we have to have her tag along..." Rosalie said.

"It's unnecessary, Rose, what could the girl do, affect the house with her emo-ness?" Emmett asked with amusement, before he chuckled at his own joke.

"I just don't think we should trust her straight away. What do we really know about her besides how she got sired and who was hunting her down?"

Even Alice and Jasper were agreeing with Rosalie by the looks of things.

Carlisle sighed, and glanced at Esme, who shook her head at him. "Look, Crista is part of the family now. Just because she has had a run of bad luck doesn't make her untrustworthy-"

"Yes it does!" Rosalie yelled, her anger becoming evident through her voice.

"After the whole Volturi thing, you have to admit that we have to be more careful." Alice added for Rosalie's benefit.

Throughout this whole time, Jacob, who had returned from his pack meeting not fifteen minutes ago, was eyeing me, and I guess he was waiting to see how upset I would be by this whole conversation before-

"Please, that's all behind us now." Jacob said, now contributing to the conversation, was my face already showing that much anger and annoyance?

"That may be true, but we also are not certain if anyone else is looking for Crista, and if Aramis has friends equally as powerful as he was, who would want to get revenge on the fact that we killed him and his mate." Rosalie added, glaring at Jacob for intervening. "It may be for the best if we-"

"If 'we' _what_, Rose?" I said, standing up, challenging her. "If we kick her out? If we keep her detained so that she doesn't attract trouble? If we kill her? What were you going to say?"

Rosalie looked surprised at my outburst, guess you can't blame her, normally she is the icy one towards me, not the other way around, but she doesn't intimidate me anymore, "Bella-"

"And what if we weren't able to defeat Aramis and Simara but we were able to get away from them? What would _you_ have suggested we do to Crista to ensure our own safety? As far as I know, you didn't give up on me, when I was such a burden to this family."

"As Jacob said, that's all behind us Bella." Alice said, looking upset at my anger.

"Yes, but you still trust me, don't you? Or has this been all a facade to play 'happy families'?" I asked with daring, before picking up Renesmee and walking towards the door, "No matter what, we should always stick together and look after one of our own. If your safety was more important than someone else's well being, you should _not _have 'adopted' her and you should have killed me years ago." I said, before I left the house.

_Carlisle's POV – _

I would have smiled, if I couldn't see how hurt she was. Bella really had a way with words when the situation called for it. I coughed out loud, to get my family's attention.

"Though I do agree on all of us having our say with decisions that could affect this family, there will be one or two occasions where I put my foot down. We will leave for Canada tonight, so that we can get our hunting trip out of the way, and so that we can get Emmett off our backs for a few weeks-"

"Hey!"

"I apologise Emmett, the rock concert idea was too risky... and stupid." Emmett almost pouted at my words. "And we will leave Crista here. I think we need to put her in a position where she shows responsibility for this family as well as allow her some privacy to sort through her emotions. This will benefit all of us. So be ready to leave by sunset tonight, so that we can make it there and back again by dawn."

Just as I had finished speaking, we all reacted to the scent and sounds that was coming towards our home.

Edward and Crista were back. I felt proud. Well done Edward. It had been his task to locate Crista and offer comfort, it seemed like it had worked. He had brought her back home to us.

They entered through the front door. We all left the kitchen, meeting the pair in the living room. If she was human, Crista would've looked like she was crying and Edward, though not in a tearful manner, looked a little distressed at Crista's current state.

"And where did this one run off to?" asked Rosalie with ice and venom, referring to Crista. She was 'pissed', to say the least, it seems that Bella's little outburst had affected her. Since Bella's pregnancy, those two have become much closer, now to have it looking like their relationship was back in shatters must be upsetting Rose. Whether she'd like to admit it or not.

Edward frowned at Rosalie just then. And it looked like two things had clicked in his mind.

"Don't speak to her that way." Edward said to Rose with an angered frown.

"Which 'her' are you referring to?" She bit back.

"Both of them." He answered before turning back around, exiting the house to find Bella.

Crista stared at the spot where Edward had once stood. After a few seconds, she started heading towards the staircase. Funny, she hadn't reacted to Rosalie at all, yet when it came to Leah, she was ready to kill her because of her 'comments'.

"Crista, wait!" Jacob said, reaching her at the foot of the stairs, just as she was ascending onto the third step. "We should talk."

Crista ignored him and continued walking. But Jacob was not one to back down without a fight.

"Crista, come on. What's so bad about this whole situation, I mean really?" he asked.

Crista climbed a few more steps before pausing, her head remaining in its position of staring at her feet. I thought she was going to continue to ignore him, until she started to speak, not once turning around to look at him, or any of us.

"We should get a say as to who we fall in love with...I would never call _imprinting_ 'love', it's 'force'." Crista said coldly, before continuing her climb up the stairs.

"What did you say?" Jacob asked, looking extremely irritated and like he had been slapped in the face.

"You heard me." Crista said loudly enough, before reaching the top of the stairs and shutting herself away in her bedroom.

"What the HELL is so wrong with imprinting?" Jacob asked to no one in particular, before he shook his head and left the Cullen residence, without looking at anyone else.

_**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**_

_Crista's POV - _

It has been six hours. Six hours since I returned to the house, six hours since I've spoken to Edward and six hours since I hurt Jacob's feelings. I cringed internally at the sound of his voice after my last comment to him. Perhaps I had been too harsh? I let out a long, deep breath, which made me feel better. For the past six hours, I have been thinking, no thanks to Edward, thinking about some choices that I had to make.

I was sitting against a large pile of pillows that I had taken from everyone's rooms. They knew of my little habit by now. I had already done it twice, so they were use to finding my scent lingering on their pillows when they would return from their trips.

The first time I had stolen everyone's pillows was when the Cullens had to go meet with Jacob's pack again, after the whole Aramis ordeal, and inform them of my permanent stay here. The Cullens returned to find that all of their pillows were missing. They went to my room and found me asleep with their beloved pillows piled against the head rest, surrounding me or with me sleeping on them.

It didn't bother them. I had planned on returning them before they got back. I had woken up to lots of chuckling actually. They knew why I took them, well they had their theories.

Edward said it's because I missed them and the pillows smelt like them, so it was the closest thing I had to their company until they returned home. But the truth is...well...uh...actually, Edward's theory just about covered it, though I wasn't about to admit that out loud.

I felt safer and could sleep easier when one of my senses could alert me that the Cullens were home. It's actually rather uncanny for me to do such a thing, because for over 70 years I was a nomad who lived on her own. I guess it goes to show how much I was missing any human, or vampire, interaction.

Also, because of my dreams, I liked being able to smell that they were nearby, just in case...I needed them. The sense of smell is the only thing a dream cannot replicate; it's the only way I know if I'm dreaming or not. When I stop smelling the Cullens, or anything for that matter, then I know that my little, unique sleep hypnosis has gone too far and I'm having a vampire's version of a deep sleep.

I hated those, because it felt like you lost yourself in your dreams, you forget who you are, what you stand for and you even forget that you actually exist. I had once dreamt that I was a soldier, who was fighting for her country. When I had woken up it had actually taken me a fair few minutes to remember that I am Crista, the family-less vampire who is on the run from enemies she didn't mean to have.

One of the main reasons I hated deep sleeps so much was also that you could get lost in them. Nothing can wake you, until your mind is ready to let you wake. It's weird, being stuck behind the prison walls in your head. I hated my subconscious for it, yet I needed to dream, because if I stop, I will forget them. And if I forget my family, it means that they are really gone for good.

I was currently reading a book Edward had given me, titled'The Da Vinci Code'. It was a cleverly written re-collection of a fiction history, though some parts of it were intriguing enough to make me believe them. I never use to be able to read so well when I was human, because my people, in our small town, were slaves, so our education required us to be able to perform household duties, not reading and writing.

As a vampire, I guess everything becomes easier, your mind is like a predator for information as it relies on your intelligence for your survival. That's the only indication that we have which separates us from animals as our conscience can easily be taken away from us when our emotions are at its peak...but I guess that is like all humans in a way.

Edward also tried getting me into listening to some of his music, but I wasn't ready for music just yet. Music was noise. Even something as gentle as Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata was too much noise for me to handle.

Books were a great start. It left me alone with a world that felt like it was mine and only mine, as if I was the only one in the whole world who was allowed to peak into someone else's life. It was relaxing and it made me forget, which is why I have recently fallen in love with books.

I glanced at the clock and saw that it was nearly midnight. I let out a breath and waited. Leah would be arriving soon, on all fours, curl up beside the house and sleep. Like usual, like she has been doing the past few nights. She doesn't sit anymore against the tree.

Yet, almost an hour had past, and just as it was wavering onto one in the morning, I felt a sudden irritation. Where was she? She wasn't here, she was late. Perhaps she wasn't coming tonight? Nonsense, she was here every night. Why would tonight be any different? Wait...this is good, it means that she won't be bothering me anymore. A small smile crept on my face at this realisation and I continued reading the book.

I was just about to find out whether the protagonist, Robert, was successful in gaining access to something called a 'safety deposit box', when I heard a heavy thud, followed by a groan. Something had fallen into the dirt outside of the house, right near my window...Leah. Huh, maybe she fell asleep while standing? Was she that tired? Was that even possible?

I thought for a few seconds...being out of touch with certain human weaknesses was really setting a draw back to my memory. I could not remember whether my human body had ever fallen while standing due to exhaustion; though, if it _had,_ wasn't that dangerous to such a fragile body? And she had groaned, was she in pain? Oh shit...I bolted to my window and my thoughts were confirmed.

Leah had fallen face first into the earth, she wasn't asleep, she was barely retaining consciousness as she tried looking up at my window. She looked exhausted and very weak. Her breathing was coming out ragged. I watched her as she pulled her legs towards her stomach, so that she was curled up in the foetal position, and collapsed. Tch...Idiot wolf...

I left the window and walked back towards my bed, where there was a small dresser, containing a lamp, my book and a draw. I opened the draw and pulled out a key. Walking back to the window and inserted the key into a lock system located in the centre of the window, and unlocked it.

I had it locked ever since I had a nightmare than Simara had jumped through it and tared the Cullens to shreds. I know a locked window couldn't stop her, but I felt better when Esme had installed the lock into it and had given me the key.

I threw the key onto the dresser table, opened the window and then jumped out. The night air was extremely cold tonight. So cold, that I had no idea how well Leah could cope against it, especially in such a weak state.

I landed directly next to her body, and kneeled before her. She was covered in scratches, claw marks to be specific and she was bruised here and there. Her face was also pale. I didn't move her body, I remember listening to an episode of a television series ten years ago (on the rare nights that it was clear for me to stay near a town or city instead of hidden in the forest) and I had learnt that keeping unconscious people in the foetal position was the best for them, as it cleared their airways.

I know werewolves have extremely accelerated heart beats, because of their...condition...yet Leah's was going faster, way faster...quicker than I have ever heard Jacob's go. I frowned. That meant she had a fever, didn't it?

I shook my head at her situation. What self-respecting person would allow themselves to get to such a stage? Did she not care about herself? Did the ludicrous rules of imprinting cloud her judgement to believe that I was more important than her well being?

_**FLASHBACK –**_

_Edward's POV – _

_Thankfully I had found her straight away. She didn't really want to hide or runaway even, she just wanted some time to herself. That was an hour ago and I had yet to say anything to her, and she hasn't said anything to me. _

_We were both sitting on a branch, which belonged to one of the highest tree in Forks. From the smell of it, Crista must be fond of this spot, as her scent lingered all over it. _

_She was blocking me from reading her thoughts. I was impressed. It had taken the others years to be able to do that. Then again, I couldn't read her thoughts when we first met her, maybe she is just good at creating barriers to protect herself; barriers so strong and deep that they even block me out. _

_It wasn't until two more hours had passed that Crista started to lift the barriers so that I could hear her chain of thought. As I listened, a lot of it started to make sense, why she was so opposed to the idea of imprinting and intimately loving another. I immediately knew what _

_I coughed, out of habit rather than necessity, and remained facing the bird's eye view of the forest._

"_Crista, after I was sired, I began to question everything about myself, who I was, what I was, and the person I was meant to be. At the time I didn't believe in Carlisle's 'vegetarian' way of living. I think it was an ego issue. If I was that strong and had so much potential, why couldn't I use it to hunt humans?"_

_Crista looked up at me. My last sentence had probably struck a chord with her._

"_But because I respected Carlisle so much, I only ate the humans who I believed did not deserve to live."_

'_Tell me, what had you defined as a qualification for someone not deserving to live?' Crista thought in her head, asking me a key question which I had asked myself time and time again, all those years ago. _

_I was ready for her question, "An example. One of the last humans I had ever killed was a middle aged man who was a serial rapist."_

_Crista winced at my response. _

"_So you can understand why I had thought that that was a morally correct thing to do?" I asked her._

_She just nodded, her thoughts of understanding egging me to continue. _

"_But then I realised that I had no right to choose who lives and who dies, that wasn't up to me. Just because I could, doesn't mean I should. If that makes sense."_

'_What's your point?' Crista asked me through her thoughts. She was beginning to get impatient with me. _

_I smiled at her, grimly, as these memories were as fresh to my mind as the day they were created. Just because you adapt, it doesn't mean you forget._

"_My point is, is that after doing all this then having my little 'epiphany', I got off my high horse. I grew up. I didn't think I was so great anymore. I was just as bad as the people I ate, even if I thought I was doing innocent people a favour by killing them."_

'_You are what you eat.' Crista thought, with slight humour and with sudden understanding. I think she was finally seeing where I was going with this. _

"_I started despising myself. I thought myself as a foul and lower being than everyone else. I didn't think I deserved love, or kindness, or anything of the sort. But Carlisle helped me through it, then Esme when she came along, and even Rosalie in her own weird way. They helped me see that everyone makes mistakes, everyone experiences things that are out of their control, and that's life, we can't do much more than that."_

_Crista looked away from the scenery and turned her head towards me. I placed my hand on her shoulder, giving it a small squeeze. _

"_You have to stop hating yourself and blaming yourself for what has happened to others in your life. You deserve to be loved Crista, just like the rest of us." I said softly, under my breath. _

_All the thoughts in her mind froze as she processed what I had said. She opened her mouth as if to speak then closed it again and simply nodded at me. Her eyes said everything her mouth couldn't. 'Thankyou'. _

_I nodded back at her. 'You're welcome'. _

"_I will see you back at home, whenever you're ready to join us." With that I stood up and jumped off the tree, landing firmly on the ground ten seconds later. _

_She still had other issues in her mind that she was contemplating on, but I could only help her with so much, the rest was up to her. Before she can learn to love Leah, she will have to learn to like imprinting; otherwise their relationship will never work. But more important than that, she had to start liking herself again._

_**END OF FLASHBACK - **_

_Crista's POV - _

At first I wasn't sure what to do, but then the voice of my instinct was telling me to let Leah sleep, but take her up into my room. So I followed orders. I couldn't leave her here, my conscious was much too full of guilt.

I pushed her shoulder, making her roll onto her back. Then I placed my arms under Leah's body and lifted her up, holding her against my chest.

I looked at my window and aimed with my body. Now most would have just used the front door to get back in, but I knew I could make this jump. I held Leah even tighter against me and then jumped. I flew head first through my open window, spun around in the air in time and landed on my back, the floorboards beneath me.

I looked down at Leah, she was fine. Not a single scratch or anything. But she was still as bad as I had found her.

I sat up, holding onto her so she wouldn't fall off me, then I stood up. I walked to my bed and placed her on it gently, adjusting the pillows so her neck wouldn't cramp. Now that she was safe, I went back and locked the window and drew the curtains shut.

There was no point in keeping them open now that... now that Leah wasn't out there anymore. What the hell? What a thought...and as I thought back to all the other nights I had not once closed my curtains. Yet I did so before the whole Aramis and Simara ordeal.

That's strange. At first it was so that I could see the moon. I have always loved the moon, the Sun's dark ghost. There was something about it that was eerie, calming, dark and beautiful. I felt like it settled all of my emotions into a calm state every time I watched it.

Yet now that Leah was inside my room I felt like shutting the curtains. The moon now bares no interest to me. Perhaps I should ask Edward tomorrow what this could mean.

I was now staring at Leah's unconscious form. What now? There is no way that I am going to wake her up and even if I really tried, she probably won't. Her body needs the rest, obviously, otherwise she wouldn't have fainted.

She looked...distressed...as if she was uncomfortable or suffering a bad dream. But it was more than that. It was as if I could feel that she was distressed, or could tell just by looking at her that she wasn't a happy person.

I couldn't think about this. I had to ignore it. It was no concern of mine and I wasn't going to make it as such. I just needed to look after her for the night, until the Cullens get back. Then Carlisle can deal with this while I go back to doing what I'm good at, being a void for human interaction.

I had to focus. What had I done the last time someone wasn't feeling well? Damn...I can't even allow myself to think about _that_...focus Crista, stay focused. How about the last time I saw a human help another human in need? Yes, that would work, what did they do? Checked their pulse, lay them in the foetal position...I had done all these things.

They did also take their clothes off and hug themselves to them. But wasn't that for preventing hypothermia? Damn...I had no idea what I was doing...then my memory struck a chord that was significant to my current situation.

A few hours ago, as Emmett, Jasper, Edward and Jacob were getting the cars ready for tonight (they had wanted to drive instead of run, even though it would now take them longer) I had heard Emmett whispering about me.

I had only heard my name, after that I couldn't make out anything because he was talking too quietly. However, because I hadn't spoken in such a long time, I was pretty good at reading lip. I relied on it in the past to find out information, instead of me having to come into close contact with anyone or ask anyone in the first place.

I had blocked my mind from Edward, so that he wouldn't know I was listening in, and I had settled my emotions, so that Jasper wouldn't sense anything that would attract attention.

Then Jacob started speaking, probably answering to Emmett, so I had focused on his face, he had said:

"_...she is sick from the lack of interaction with her. She needs to see her, to touch her, to talk to her. I don't think Crista will allow for such a thing. Look how she is with us, she can't even handle a simple hug yet, or talk more than necessary. I think Leah is going to have a hard time surviving this..."_

"...to _touch_ her..." I repeated, speaking under my breath.

Well it was worth a shot of opportunity at least. Even though the idea of what I was about to do made me extremely uncomfortable, I had to concentrate on the fact that this wasn't about me. It was about Leah, about saving her.

"Save her now, yell at her later." I whispered to myself, then nodded.

I re-adjusted the pillows against the bed-head, so that I could lean against them. Now Leah was lying completely horizontal on the mattress. I sat down beside her and placed my back against the pillows.

Easy enough, the next task was a little harder for me to do, because it would cause me discomfort, mentally, but it had to be done.

I lifted my hands, aiming them towards Leah's shoulders. The time it took for my fingertips to stretch out and touch her dark skin, felt like an age. I hadn't willingly touched someone in ages. And even after having stayed here for over a month now, I could still only handle Bella holding my hand. Everyone else would just give me the occasional one-armed hug, like Emmett, or a pat on the shoulder, like Edward, Carlisle and Esme.

But this, this was different. I actually felt okay with touching someone as an action of my own intention. I know I had carried her in here, but this was way more intimate than that. I hadn't hesitated a second in carrying her into my room. Yet now I was. Probably because I knew what would come next.

I clasped my fingers around her shoulders and pulled her towards my body, stopping when her head was resting just below by chin. I paused when I felt movement from Leah.

She simply sighed and rotated her head so that her face was buried into my neck. I could feel her breath tickling my skin; it was an odd sensation, to say the least. I re-adjusted her body so that she was lying on her side and stomach, instead of on her back, that way, her neck won't cramp from the odd angle.

Just like me, she was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, instead of the cotton dress she was wearing at our last 'meeting', which made the next step easier and less perverse... I think.

I lowered my hands towards her hips and placed them under her t-shirt and travelled up. I felt her skin, more of it I mean. It was touching the entire surface area of both my hands. I kept my hands resting on her lower back, just below her ribs, my fingers spread out so that I was touching as much of her as possible.

As soon as I had stilled my hands, Leah's arms started to move. Her left hand shifted so that it was touching my shoulder and her right hand disappeared underneath _my_ t-shirt, resting on my navel.

Because we were both wearing shorts, it made the last movement easier. I wrapped my legs around hers, skin touching skin. As soon as I had done that, my brain reminded me that I should be panicked.

I was intimately holding a woman who I disliked but who I knew 'loved' me in her own weird way. I was physically close to her and I wasn't allowed to move, otherwise her condition would get worse. I should be feeling...trapped. But I wasn't. I felt calm.

As soon as I had stilled my actions I could see that me holding her was doing Leah good. Her colour was returning, she wasn't as pale on the face as before and she was getting very warm.

I had been close enough to Jacob to know just how much heat radiates from his body, but I had never pictured the heat to be this intense. I felt...like somehow, I could be warm again, instead of cold. I felt almost human, because Leah's rising body heat was spreading warmth through my ice cold body. I liked it, oddly enough, I was content with such a foreign feeling, a feeling I haven't felt for over seventy years.

I listened as her heart slowed down to a 'normal' pace. It had been going too fast before, as if working extremely hard to fix Leah's body. Now it was at a pace that matched Jacob's. Then I stiffened again.

Dios, I'm an idiot...I was holding someone who was _alive_, someone who had a working heart and blood.

This was a problem because, unlike the Cullens, I didn't choose to be a 'vegetarian' as they called it. I _had to_, for convenience sake. I couldn't eat humans while trying to outrun wolves who were hunting my trail. It didn't bother me when I was in the same room as Jacob and his pack, but there was a reason I avoided touching them, besides the fact that they scared me a little.

I chose to avoid eating humans for my own sake; the Cullens did it for the humans' sake. When I compared it like that it made me sound so evil. Great model citizen you are Crista.

Yet, now that I think about it, whenever I was around any of the wolves, the La Push wolves and even Aramis' wolves, I didn't feel that desire to eat them, that want, that blood lust. Why? Probably for another reason I am unaware of. I didn't realise just how much information we needed to know about this world. I had to start learning. I hate being kept in the dark.

I was pulled from my thoughts when Leah nuzzled into my neck, her nose rubbing into my skin. The action felt so familiar, so animal and primal and then I remembered where I had seen it before.

On one or two occasions, I had to cross the border into Canada to escape the werewolves. One night I was hunting for any animal I could get my hands on to eat. Anything, quickly, before I snapped and hunted the small town of people who I knew were only fifty miles away from me.

I came across a cave, and I heard hearts beating, and low breathing. I went inside to find a wolf pack, actual wolves. They were white, fluffy and surprisingly small. I had never seen animal wolves before. Despite being hunted by werewolves for so long, I had found these wolves cute, they were not threatening nor intimidating.

I stepped closer, so that I could bite the biggest wolf in the pack, which was the Alpha male by the looks of him. Then a small action stilled my movements.

There were cubs, six of them. Five were lying against the mother and the sixth was lying beside the father. Its head was moving just slightly. As I stepped closer I noticed that it was nuzzling its small snout into the Alpha's neck. For some reason the action intrigued me. Why was the cub doing such a thing? As affection or for warmth? Interesting...

I had pondered on that thought as I left the cave, stomach still empty, and still hunting for something to eat.

Now as I was laying here, with a female werewolf in my arms and nuzzling _my_ neck, thinking back on that particular night, I realised what had intrigued me about the action. I had never seen animals display a human type of affection and love before.

Maybe wolves just did it, or maybe, again, there is a lot I don't know. Perhaps other animals that I have yet to stumble across displayed such actions with each other?

I let my thoughts go, that was enough for the night. I just wanted nothingness. I cleared my mind of the past and the future, and just focused on the present, which, believe it or not, was easier. I was holding someone close to me, which not only was helping them but was helping me.

I was noticing that I was starting to develop a comfort with touching people. I wasn't as uncomfortable with it as I was before. I wonder how long my body knew that but not my brain?

Maybe the next time Emmett initiated a hug, I could hug back. Or I could initiate hugging him, or holding Bella's hand. Or even playing thumb wars with Seth, as the last time he had wanted to play, no one could at the time and he respected me enough to not even ask me when everyone else had said no.

I focused back onto Leah. She had stilled her movements of nuzzling my neck and was now just sleeping, without moving or looking restless as she had outside. I looked at her face, as much of it as I could, and noticed she also had three claw marks on her cheek.

As my eyes travelled down her body I noticed, more now than before when we were outside, the extent of her injuries. Wherever I saw skin, I saw claw marks and bruising, as well as teeth marks here and there. I almost winced, she must have been in a fight with her pack, in her condition too that was suicidal... and stupid. But sadly not abnormal, according to what I have heard in conversation, Leah was always feisty and temperamental.

I raised my hand and ran my thumb across her cheek, entrance by the pink colour of the abrasions. My broken skin, my 'cuts', were white, as vampire skin was like porcelain, in both colour and texture.

I preferred the pinkness of Leah's cuts; it meant that she, just like other wolves and humans, was alive. I cannot even remember the last time I had accidently cut myself and I saw my blood spill out from the surface. Now, whenever I got injured, it was just white, plain white. Such a _dead_ colour.

I re-focused back onto Leah's cheek and did a double take. Her scratches, had they faded? Or was I now use to them, so their intensity was less absorbed by my brain? How odd. It must be the latter.

I paused yet again. Without even realising it, I was drawing circles with my forefinger across Leah's skin, on her back. The action felt oddly affectionate and intimate. I stopped. What the hell was wrong with me?

Why had I decided that our skin touching would be beneficial to her condition? It was an instinctual decision and I hadn't even thought twice or questioned it. I was so close to moving away from her, to taking five pillows and sleeping on the lounge down stairs. But I didn't.

No one had to find out. I just had to wake up before Leah woke up and before the Cullens got home. This was easy said and done because I was rarely a heavy sleeper. I couldn't afford to be. I had to sleep with alertness and with some instincts still switched on.

On some nights since I've been here I have switched off from the world and truly slept without being on guard, but those nights caused me stressed. The nightmares were worse because they affected me worse. When you lower your defences, you lower your walls, your barriers. Things can hurt you more.

So I relaxed, while still being aware of the fact that I was holding someone and that I needed to be awake in a few hours.

I focused on a thought to start off my 'sleep' and I closed my eyes and soon felt myself becoming consumed by my subconscious. The last thought that I formed, before I disappeared into my mind, was that, for some weird reason, Leah was the only wolf I wasn't scared of; strange, another thing that hadn't occurred to me until now.

Oddly enough, during the course of my sleep and my dreams, my thoughts had taken me to a river bed, where a family of wolves lived, however, instead of me being an observer and an outsider I was a part of them.

_I was a wolf, standing beside another wolf. My body was black but sometimes when I looked in the river it was grey. The wolf beside me had annoyed me, somehow I knew she had and somehow I knew she was a female wolf. I growled at her, baring my teeth in annoyance. She backed down and submitted to me, which calmed my anger. Then I laid against her and fell asleep, I was content and I was home. _

_**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**_

_Leah's POV - _

I felt incredibly warm, which was weird because the sun was a rare sight in Forks. So it couldn't be the sun. Though whatever it was, I wouldn't mind keeping it, I haven't felt so relaxed since...sadly, I cannot recall an actual time when I have felt so at peace. Goes to show how screwed my life is.

Oh fuck, unless, I'm dead? I can't even recall the last thing I had done.

And what was with the chuckling? Did Seth have friends over? But the chuckling sounded nearby...little bastards, they were invading my room! Time to completely wake up and give them a piece of my mind!

I opened my eyes, my conscious tearing my subconscious from the dream world. Now that I was fully awake, I almost wished I had stayed asleep, almost, because it would be easier than trying to describe what I _felt _about the current situation I was in.

I was lying on a foreign bed, entangled with someone else, my face pressed into their neck. Now here is where it got interesting. This 'someone else' had pale skin, yet not as pale as any of the Cullen's skin, and from what I could tell of the way the body felt against me, this person was a female.

Pale, female, made me feel better...oh shit! I snapped my head up and away from the female's neck in an instant.

Honestly, if someone had asked me, I couldn't tell you what I felt when my eyes came across the woman I was lying against. All I know was that the feeling was positive, that's the only way I could describe what type of feelings my brain and heart were generating. Other than that, no other words could amount to it, could justify it enough.

Crista. She was the one I had been using as a pillow. What the fuck? How? When? Shit she is staring at me! I must look like a moron. Say something, stupid!

"I-I..." Perfect Leah, way to sound intelligent...

It was hard to formulate any coherent word at this moment. Why? One reason, okay maybe many, but here was the main one: I was sitting up, on a bed, in the embrace of the vampire I was... 'in love' with, her arms were still wrapped around my body, which meant she had been holding me all night.

I was utterly speechless or incapable of any motor functioning. All I could do was stare at her eyes. I couldn't look into them, because she was keeping me out, but her face held a questioning and curious look to it, as if pondering on my next choice of action or words.

She'd be waiting a long time, because even though I couldn't say or do anything except stare at her, I was content with that prospect.

"Well, well, well. We should leave you alone more often Crista, if it means us getting to walk in on this suggestive scene every time...OW! Rose!"

"You idiot."

I snapped my head around to my right, to see the entire Cullen family and Jake, standing in the open doorway, watching Crista and I with mixed looks of amusement, curiosity and attentiveness. So it was them who were chuckling...they found us like this!

"Uh, well, by the looks of you two, you both seem completely fine. We will be downstairs making breakfast, please join us whenever you want." Esme said, before closing the door, even against some of their protests.

"Oh come on! We are gonna miss the good part! Ouch, Rose!"

"Most of the time, you shouldn't say words!"

I watched the closed door for a few seconds, before turning my head back onto Crista. I wish I knew what she was thinking! Because it would then help me decide on what to do without setting her off in any negative way.

She stared back at me for a few seconds before letting her arms drop from around my waist. My skin was tingling a little, already missing her touch.

She then stood up, making her way towards a dresser. I blushed when my eyes travelled her body.

She was wearing black shorts which shouldn't even be described as shorts; underwear probably suited the description better, as they only stopped an inch or two below her butt cheeks. She had been holding me while wearing that? You idiot Leah, you sleeping was blasphemy!

And she was wearing a small dark green t-shirt that had a band name on them, a t-shirt which reminded me of the past, as she turned back around, sure enough, I could clearly see 'Guns n Roses' printed onto her chest; briefly reminding me of Kaya.

Overall, she looked incredibly sexy and it took all of my willpower to keep my eyes on her face, which didn't 'cool down' the view at all. This is what confused me about this whole imprinting thing. How is it I am finding a female so attractive? When I have never looked at one in such a way before? And why did it feel so natural to me?

She walked back towards me and laid some folded clothes beside me. I looked down at the clothes then back up at her. In those two brief seconds she had put on jeans and was wearing a long sleeved cardigan over her t-shirt. Why was she covering up for?

Before I could continue on with that question in my thoughts, she indicated to the bundle of clothes by pointing at them. They were for me to wear? I looked down at what I was wearing; my clothes weren't torn or tattered, so there was no point for me to change them.

"No... but thanks anyway." I said to her. Idiot, you could have said it in a better way. Way to choke.

She nodded once and then nodded her head towards her right, indicating for me to follow her out the window...out the window?

She walked towards her window and opened it. And without looking back at me, she jumped. I rose to my feet in an instant and ran to the open window. I looked down, just catching a glimpse of her at the forest edge before she disappeared into it.

Thankfully, there was a tree near the window, because that way I could jump out without having to change into a wolf. I didn't want to rip my clothes, and then have to face Crista naked, that would be completely weird and awkward, if not, a little suggestive.

Though she offered me clothes to wear, I don't think I would be able to concentrate on anything with her scent surrounding me like that.

So I leaped out through the window onto the tree, climbed down the tree a little, and then jumped the rest of the way to the ground. A sickly sweet smell came to my senses and without turning around, I could tell that some of the Cullens were staring at me through an open window. Guess I can't blame them for their curiosity.

As I made my way towards the forest edge, my anxiety rose with every step. What would happen as soon as I disappeared into those dark trees? Would Crista attack me? Revenge for me opening my big mouth? I tried contemplating another scenario but none were realistic enough for me to build on. The only way I see this turning out was me getting attacked by Crista and honestly speaking, I have no idea how to feel about that.

I stopped as I approached the edge of the forest. One more step and I would become enveloped in its darkness. I let out a deep breath, preparing myself for some major big ass kicking.

I closed my eyes and walked into the shadows. After walking a few steps I opened my eyes to a small forest clearing. My breath caught for a few seconds, Crista had brought me to the same forest clearing we had met her at. The same clearing from the night I had angered her so greatly that it had apparently, according to Jacob, broken down her psychological walls, allowing Edward to hear her thoughts for the first time.

'_Pack, this is the new vampire.'_

'_So how long will you be staying here?'_

'_What about her coven? Or her family? Doesn't she have any?'_

'_She probably ate them and then ran away.' _

'_Jacob, get Leah out of here!'_

'_And why did you have to hurt her feelings in the first place? She didn't do anything wrong by us!'_

I shook my head, clearing my thoughts from the memories of that night. It had been the worse guilt trip I have ever been through, as well as the biggest wake up call. It's funny how it takes extreme moments for people to see the light.

My eyes scanned the clearing until they landed on Crista, who was leaning beside a tree, with her arms crossed, eyebrow raised and staring at me with an air of patience.

You know what's funny? Or ironic, if that is even the right word to use. Due to the fact that I am short fused, a lot of people, with the exception of Malila, treat me like a ticking time bomb that is about to go off at any second. Because of this, I am the dominant one in any situation, as I am treated with caution. Interestingly enough, I like it, because fear is often a substitute for respect.

I say this now, because at this moment, Crista was making me feel incredibly inferior and submissive. Maybe because I needed her, not the other way round. It's ironic, because the one person I now want respect from most probably sees me as being unworthy of it.

The weird thing about all of this was that I didn't mind feeling like this around Crista, even though it was going against my nature.

I swallowed the growing lump of nervousness in my throat and walked towards her. I didn't know how physically close I was allowed to be to her now. How much was pushing it? How much until I had crossed her personal barrier?

All I could do was test it out, so I walked slowly, approaching her with the same care one would do if they were approaching a startled deer, or me. And, success, it worked. No sooner had I reached a four meter distance from Crista, she raised her left hand in the halt gesture, causing me to automatically halt any further movement.

Now there was just silence. All I could do was watch her, as it seemed she was having some internal battle with herself.

The silence was finally interrupted after a painfully long five minutes.

"Does sleeping outside my window every night help you?"

Her voice wasn't how I imagined it to be. Though, honestly speaking, how far could one imagine another's voice to sound? I had thought that because of her cracked skin, her voice would hold an air of weakness. I was proven wrong. It didn't.

Her voice had strength behind it, as if every time she uttered a word, it commanded respect and attention. There was no uncertainty, no doubt. She spoke with an air of confidence laced with the extremely faint markings of a Hispanic accent. And it was...nice. I liked hearing her speak.

I halted my thoughts as her question finally hit home. What? Out of everything she could have possibly said or asked as her first ever words to me, she chose to go with that? What's worse is, I had an answer, but I was too embarrassed to give it.

So I didn't respond. However, when I saw that she was being patient with me and waiting for an answer I realised that I was the one acting like a child. God, the only reliable thing about me is that I am terrible at first impressions. How pathetic.

"It d-does." I coughed a little to clear my throat, weakly hoping that coughing would somehow give me courage and lower my pride, "Yes it does, only a little though, just enough to get by for the day, until night time again." Huh, it worked.

Crista merely nodded in response to my answer, her expression was calculating and full of thought and it was making me a little uneasy.

"And how do you feel now?" She asked, surprising me again. Where was the anger, the violence, my punishment for being a bitch?

"Uh, I feel fine. Better, even."

I didn't want to say to her that I had never felt so relaxed nor had such an amazing sleep before in my life, I will lower my pride, but not _that_ much.

"So it won't be necessary for you to come back tonight, will it?"

For some reason, this question hurt the area where my heart was, only just a little though, hopefully not enough to show the disappointment on my face.

"N-no." I answered, raising my chin a little higher so that I didn't look wounded by her words.

"Okay."

Okay? That was all she was going to say to me? She wasn't going to confront me about my imprinting on her?

Crista unfolded her arms from her chest and began to step away from the tree, away from the clearing, and away from me, back towards the Cullen's house.

No. "Wait!"

She kept walking.

"Please?" I needed to discuss this matter with her, no matter what, I can't let her leave.

"Crista." I tried again. Fuck, my voice...it sounded close to breaking, even though on the inside I felt stronger...well I thought I did. I guess my resolve isn't as great as I thought it was.

'_Please don't walk away'_, I repeatedly begged in my head. Geez, Leah, since when?

She stopped. Crista actually listened to me and halted any further movement, though she didn't turn back around to face me.

Come on you idiot, she stopped, now is your moment, so don't fuck this up. You're Quileute, show some strength and spirit!

"Crista, I know you are aware of the situation I am in, involving you."

Crista's shoulders tensed, so that was a 'yes'.

"And, I'm... I'm not asking anything like _that _from you. I have to... just to see you more, even for a moment... just so I can get by."

"Is that what you want?" She asked with curiosity.

My ears perked up at her question, in half hope that she would agree.

"Yes." I answered back, though too quickly for my liking.

"It won't last."

"What?" I wasn't even allowed to glance at her, for a few seconds, in the future?

"You will _always_ need more." Oh.

I'm glad she didn't say 'want', she said 'need'. Crista, unbeknownst to her, allowed me dignity in this situation and I was grateful for it. It made things easier for me to allow myself the ignorance to believe that I only wanted her company to keep me alive, not because I lov-, I mean, not because I imprinted on her.

"How do you figure?" I asked.

Normally I snap at people when they presume things about me, but I asked Crista out of genuine curiosity. Plus snapping at her would make me a hypocrite, as I did it to her not that long ago in this same clearing.

"I can see it in the way Jacob looks at Renesmee. That kind of... 'love' is strong. Just a few moments of my time won't be enough for you."

I let out a sigh. I knew where I had to go with this.

"Okay. Well you know my situation. I will leave it up to you to decide my fate." I said, with certainty in my voice. Whatever the outcome, I was content either way. If she said yes, then I could spend time with her and not die, if she said no, I died.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not suicidal, but I'm not going to push her. As long as she was happy with her answer, then I will be okay. Wait where did _that_ come from? Fuck this imprinting shit.

"One moment, so you are leaving it up to me to decide whether to put up with you and let you live, or keep distance and let you die?" Crista asked, anger evident in her voice.

Though on the other hand, when she put it that way, it sounded almost cunning of me to leave the choice to her.

I took a small step towards her and it took me a moment to realise why. Crista angry was incredibly intimidating... yet incredibly hot...wait stop that! No to _those _thoughts!

"Uh, yes?" I answered back, grateful that she didn't notice my step towards her.

"Maldita séa!" She angrily muttered under her breath.

Was that Spanish? You see? Hot!

Shit, no! Stop it.

"What?" I asked, though I wasn't expecting a translation.

"It means 'damn it'."

Well I'll be damned, she translated.

"God damn imprinting." Crista whispered to herself, as she began to pace for a few seconds.

"Yeah." I said before I could stop myself. I was slightly amused by her pacing. It's rare seeing vampires restless. Crista was fidgety when angry, as well as feisty and native to her tongue. This made me smile a little, immediately stopping though when Crista discontinued her pacing and looked up at me.

"You know, that's incredibly cunning of you." She said. Yeah, well had to be done.

'_I know Crista and I'm sorry.' _

"I know." I answered back, slightly shaking my head at my conflicting thoughts.

"Fine, when you see it fit, you're welcome to stop by."

"Alright." I responded, grateful the entire situation was settled, for now. I wasn't sure if I should thank her or not. It was an odd situation to say 'thank you' in.

She took my response as the conclusion to our conversation. She looked at me for a maximum of two seconds and then turned around and disappeared into the darkness of the trees.

After a few minutes, I let out a very long breath and walked towards the tree Crista had been near. I placed my back against it and slid down, sitting on the forest floor. I pulled my knees to my chest and placed my forehead against them.

Well... that was intense, to say the least. Now I know what people mean when they describe something as a 'head fuck'. I concentrated on my breathing, the action calming down my racing mind. I couldn't keep up with it. Too much has happened in the last 24 hours. I wasn't exhausted in the physical sense though, thanks to Crista. I was just mentally drained.

Being somewhat temporarily bipolar can do that to you, and speaking of which, I needed to sort out my thoughts! One minute I'm feeling or saying something and then the next minute I was disagreeing with myself or contradicting myself. Who the fuck does that?

How is it I can be completely selfless and think about Crista and her wellbeing? And then the next minute force Crista to decide on a difficult ultimatum? Since when do I play on people's guilt? Oh wait, since you got dumped. Fuck my life.

I leaned my head back, away from my knees, and against the tree trunk. As I looked up at the morning sun trying to sneak its way through the outskirts of the forest clearing, and failing terribly, I was reminded of something.

It was a week until the full moon. I pondered as I absentmindedly ran my knuckles gently across my left cheek.

Firstly, I could not believe how much had happened between this upcoming full moon and the last. From me imprinting on Crista to reconciling with Malila, it has definitely been an interesting few weeks.

Secondly, I now knew what I had to do. I had a cliff to visit and a ritual to be done. I was now focusing so much optimism into this ritual, placing the fate of my thoughts in its hands. This was important and it _has_ to work!

This time, I will not be deterred due to other events, this time I was keeping my appointment with the Gods.

_**FLASHBACK: 15 MINUTES AGO - **_

_Crista's POV - _

_I had to hide, if I didn't they would come and find me. I needed to find a place to hide. Where? Not here... not there! They're going to kill me! Someone called my name. Who was that? I opened the door at the end of the corridor, expecting to find an empty room to hide. Instead, I saw a figure with pale skin and long hair... Aramis? No, it was... me._

_I widened my eyes in fear and turned around, running away from myself. I suddenly heard laughter, distant, yet echoing all around me. Stop! ... I suddenly felt calm. I was at the top of my favourite tree, I jumped off, yet instead of falling, I was flying, I felt the warmth of the sun against my neck and the smell of the forest filling my nose..._

Wait, this isn't right. The sense of smell doesn't exist in dreams, not even in mine. My eyes snapped open, taking in the sight of my ceiling. I didn't snap up out of bed like I usually do when I awaken on alert. I just... I just stayed there. I felt a stirring on my chest and air on my neck.

I looked down, my eyes landing on... Leah? Oh God. I had forgotten. Before I could think much on this situation I looked to my right, sensing myself being watched.

I was right, and God, how I hated the fact that I was right. The entire Cullen family were back from their trip and were standing at the door opening, looking at me with curiosity. My eyes landed on Jasper and before I could stop myself...

"Did you control my emotions again?" I asked him, whispering so as not to awaken Leah. I have to get up before she wakes. I just wasn't sure how I was going to accomplish that with any grace while being watched and without waking Leah.

"Yes." He answered, amused. Great, even Jasper found my situation humorous!

"Sorry, I told him to, I saw your dreams." Edward said with sympathy in his eyes. "Plus we are aware of how you awaken, you have Leah in your arms, you could have hurt her."

'_I don't awaken that badly.'_ I thought in my head, causing Edward to grin.

"Forget that boring stuff. Tell us why we walk in on you two, obviously having spent the night together and I see no video camera in sight for you to show your good, older brother Em of your late night activities?" Emmett said, causing the entire family to chuckle, while Rosalie and Carlisle slapped him upside the head.

I was about to defend myself when I heard Leah sigh.

This is bad.

Leah moved her head a little, nuzzling my neck then suddenly freezing, causing me to freeze. I felt Leah tilt her head back a little; she was probably trying to identify her 'pillow'. Then after a few seconds, her head snapped away from my neck and she sat up, her eyes finding mine.

The closest word I could come across to even begin to describe the look on her face was shock. It matched her erratic heartbeat, which I had only just become aware of.

"I-I..." Leah stuttered. You see? Shock.

All I could do was stare at her because it helped me keep my emotions in check, or was that Jasper? Either way, I guarded my eyes of _my_ emotions, and remained fixated on hers. What would she do?

"Well, well, well. We should leave you alone more often Crista, if it means us getting to walk in on this suggestive scene every time...OW! Rose!"

"You idiot."

I almost buried my face in my palm at Emmett's stupidity. He had startled Leah, causing her to abruptly change her attention towards the door way.

"Uh, well, by the looks of you two, you both seem completely fine. We will be downstairs making breakfast, please join us whenever you want." Esme said. She then closed the door, even against Emmett's protesting.

"Oh come on! We are gonna miss the good part! Ouch, Rose!"

"Most of the time, you shouldn't say words!"

As soon as the door closed, I re-focused my attention back onto Leah. A few seconds later she regained her focus on me. I observed her face carefully, trying to find a hint of what she could be thinking hidden in her eyes. I think I saw caution, though I don't know why.

Perhaps the fact that I was holding her was making her uneasy or feeling entrapped. I could understand that feeling, so I let my arms drop from her waist. Regrettably they were already becoming cold.

Then I stood, suddenly realising that I was far too underdressed, it was both inappropriate and uncomfortable. My marked body on display. That was not exactly a comforting or pleasant thought. I needed coverage.

I walked towards my dresser. Locating the clothes I needed by a sniff from my nose. I walked back towards Leah, placing some fresh clothes beside her, for her to change if she wished. She looked down at the clothes, while she was doing this I had jumped into my jeans and placed my arms in a cardigan just as she had looked up again.

She looked surprised. Why? Did she not understand that the clothes were for her? I pointed at them. Hoping she would get the message.

"No... but thanks anyway." Leah said, looking grateful at first and then strangely wincing after she had spoken. I'm glad she understood. I wasn't ready to speak to her just yet, I needed a few minutes.

I nodded at her and then nodded towards the window, hoping she would interpret correctly again. I opened the window and jumped out, my feet landing on solid ground. I always enjoyed free falling, it was one of the reasons why I sat on the tallest tree in Forks, just so that I could jump off of it when I had finished my, as Emmett like to put it, 'emo time'.

I made my way towards the forest edge, disappearing under the trees just as I heard the slight increase in volume at Leah's heartbeat, which must mean she was at the window's ledge, staring down after me.

I continued walking, heavy thoughts burdening my mind, even though I had yet to acquaint with them. I had to sort out my thoughts. Why was my mind becoming so cluttered? I thought about the situation and what position I was currently in.

I had sort of saved Leah's life last night by disrespecting her personal space and holding her while we slept. She had awoken and witnessed me holding her. I had been wearing inappropriate sleep attire, was walked in on by the Cullens and I should also consider that miniscule detail that she, oh yeah...imprinted on me!

What a mess. I didn't know what to do. This was a situation I didn't know how to settle and could you blame me? Since when have people ever had to deal with the situation where their universally appointed 'soul mate' wishes to claim you, yet you _oppose_ of the idea?

There was also the matter of our first meeting. I still want to speak to her about it, but something was telling me to withhold that conversation for another day. However, I did not want there to ever be another day shared between us again. I just wanted to be left alone. I could handle dealing with the Cullen's issues if need be. But my personal life was a lot more complex, therefore I wanted it avoided. I wasn't ready to deal with my life, I was happy just being a drifter.

I suddenly felt warmth against my skin. I looked up and noticed I had stumbled across a clearing. The very same clearing from the night I had almost ripped off Leah's head due to my rage and her provoking. Odd that I would end up back here, yet ironic. This area would have to do.

The sun wasn't shining all the way through, due to the trees still being far too thick for a complete ray to shine through, however it was a lot denser than the rest of the surrounding forest, so it provided enough light.

I heard Leah's heartbeat continue to rise as she made her way towards the forest edge. A few more steps and she would be within this very clearing. It wasn't far from the Cullen house at all.

I now felt a sense of anxiety overcome me. What would I say to her? I _had _summoned her here. I had wanted to talk. What was she expecting of me? What was _I_ expecting of me? What did I want? To be left alone? But at what cost? Was she fully healed or did she require me further?

I let out a deep breath. I needed to calm down. There was no reason to panic. I would just play it by ere and hopefully, Leah would lead the discussion. I sighed and crossed my arms, leaning myself against the tree just as she entered the clearing.

Why did she look afraid? Did she think I was going to hurt her, or was it something else? Now that I thought about it, I wouldn't trust my stability either, especially since I am somewhat hostile to strangers and nearly attacked her on our first meeting.

As Leah took in her surroundings, one could see that her mind was elsewhere. Remembering? Perhaps it had been a bad idea to select this spot? Wait, _stop_. Stop caring...

Leah shook her head and then allowed her eyes to travel around the clearing, until they stopped on me. I tensed immediately. I raised my eyebrow so that she wouldn't notice and awaited her next move.

She stared for a few seconds and then proceeded to close the distance between us. I didn't like this. She was taking cautious steps. Am I that much of an animal? Or is my appearance as intimidating as Jasper's? Either way, I did not want her so close to me, as soon as my discomfort grew to almost unbearable, I raised my hand. She got the hint, Leah ceased any further steps.

Leah stood before me, her eyes awaiting _my_ command. So I guess it was up to me to start this. What would I say first? How should I say it? How should I word it? So many words flew past my mind, so many ways of starting this conversation.

I only wanted it to be small. It was inappropriate to have been in the situation Leah and I had been in last night, and not say anything about it afterwards. My problem right now was that it was a lot easier said than done, so to speak.

Finally, I started with the easiest thing to ask.

"Does sleeping outside my window every night help you?" Stupid question, but it was a start, even though I already knew the answer.

She looked surprised at me. Was she expecting me to ask something else? Great, now I'm curious to her thoughts.

Leah didn't answer for a while, so I waited patiently. Great thing about being a vampire is that patience is an acquired skill. Funny though, I was so very different as a human, well I think I was, the memory was as clear as a water coloured image.

I was pulled from my chain of thoughts when I saw Leah's mouth begin to mouth to formulate an answer.

"It d-does." She answered with fragility, coughing, then to my surprise continuing further. "Yes it does, only a little though, just enough to get by for the day, until night time again." Now she sounded much stronger.

I nodded in response, now deciding on my next question.

"And how do you feel now?" I finally asked. God, I hated the sound of my own voice. It wasn't the way I remembered it. Perhaps there was more than one reason behind why I stopped speaking to begin with.

"Uh, I feel fine. Better, even." Leah answered, though I felt that she had filtered her response.

I was ready with my next question.

"So it won't be necessary for you to come back tonight, will it?"

Don't analyse, just remain focused on her answer. Stop reading the truth behind her eyes. Ignore the disappointed look.

"N-no." She answered and in doing so with her head held high.

Good.

"Okay." Was all I answered. I turned around to leave, before I lost my cold resolve.

"Wait!"

No Leah, I can't.

"Please?"

For your own sake, stop. You're just a child.

So are you Crista.

Yeah... I know.

"Crista."

Something in her voice broke me. I stopped, surprising myself more than I surprised her.

I didn't turn around to face her though, I couldn't. Due to guilt? Yes, probably...most definitely.

"Crista, I know you are aware of the situation I am in, involving you." Well, I hadn't expected her to be _that_ direct.

"And, I'm... I'm not asking anything like _that _from you. I have to... just to see you more, even for a moment... just so I can get by."

Is that her talking, or the imprinting?

"Is that what _you_ want?" I asked her.

"Yes." She answered back, almost immediately.

Leah. It won't be enough.

"It won't last." I told her.

"What?"

"You will _always_ need more." And I can't give that to you, sorry.

"How do you figure?" She asked me, where was she going with this?

"I can see it in the way Jacob looks at Renesmee. That kind of... 'love' is strong. Just a few moments of my time won't be enough for you."

It was the truth.

Leah sighed.

"Okay. Well you know my situation. I will leave it up to you to decide my fate." She said, strength and certainty returning to her voice.

What the...? Is _this_ where she was directing the conversation all along? Was it always going to be up to _me_ to decide? Why is it up to me? Can't I just be left alone?

"One moment, so you are leaving it up to me to decide whether to put up with you and let you live, or keep distance and let you die?" I asked, my anger bubbling to the surface.

"Uh, yes?" Leah answered, stepping a little closer towards me. What, did she have a death wish?

"Maldita séa!" I angrily cursed under my breath. Crista, calm down, just breath...

"What?" Leah asked me.

"It means 'damn it'." I answered automatically while in thought. What am I to do now?

"God damn imprinting." I muttered to myself as I started a pace. Walking always helps me when it comes to solving idiotic dilemmas.

"Yeah." Leah whispered. Oh God, there was a slight pain behind that whisper, as well as exhaustion and it was already starting to affect my guilt and sympathy. How can ten minutes of someone's time be so altering? As much as I disliked her, this particular issue wasn't her fault. I looked up.

"You know, that's incredibly cunning of you." I said before I could stop myself. Now that I thought about it, I probably would have done the same thing if the role was reversed.

"I know."

"Fine, when you see it fit, you're welcome to stop by." Crista, what are you doing? You're getting too involved.

For the time being, I _am _involved whether I like it or not.

Not really-

Shut up! I'm not going to let her _die_. Don't forget who you are.

"Alright." Leah answered, interrupting my internal battle and concluding our conversation.

I'm glad she didn't say 'thank you', it was both too foreign and too inappropriate for this particular situation.

Before anything else happened, I left, disappearing back into the forest.

_**END FLASHBACK**_

I let out a deep breath to help me deal with the intensity of that situation. I couldn't help the feeling that my life will, from now on, never be the same. I also felt a little different, as if I've grown or changed, or _something_.

I cast aside those thoughts for now as the Cullen residence came into view, with the entire family waiting at the open front door for me to return. The gesture almost made me smile as it warmed my heart a little.

"So...? What's going on?" Emmett asked as I stopped before them. They all looked at me expectantly. I know they hadn't heard the conversation, which was the point of me leaving as Leah and I had needed the privacy to converse.

Their curiosity was well placed, for all they knew, I could have killed her.

"We are okay... for now." I added as an afterthought, who knew what the future would bring? It wasn't set in stone.

"That's debatable." Edward said in response to my thoughts, or even my voiced dialogue.

I shrugged. "Perhaps, but it's not important at the moment." I said.

Many of them frowned, "Then what is?" Bella asked.

"The present; I want to do something for myself for once." I answered.

"And what is that?" Carlisle asked.

"I want to learn."

"Learn what?" Jacob said as he held Renesmee. I looked at the couple for a few seconds before responding.

"Everything."

I want to know things. I wanted to know more about imprinting, know how it was possible for Bella and Edward to have a child, I want to know why vampires don't eat wolves, I want to learn how the boys can fix their cars so quickly, how Alice knows that orange 'clashes' with green, and most importantly, I want to know more about me, about the extent of my apparent 'importance' to Aramis.

_**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**_

"_**Say your prayers little one, don't forget my son, to include everyone, I tuck you in, warm within, keep you free from sin, 'til the sandman he comes."**_

_**-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-**_

**Lyrics by Metallica's 'Enter Sandman', I thought it was fitting of the chapter! ^_^ Please review! I hope you liked this chapter! I wanted a 'unique' way of meeting one's imprintee, something no one else would write about or think would happen. Hope this was okay. Thanks for reading! I also wanted to say, I deeply apologise for having you wait so long for an update! Now that this chapter is over with, I'm aiming on shortening them a bit, so that I can update more frequently. Thank you for being patient with me. I can't believe this chapter took me six months to write -_- sigh... ce la vie. Goes to show how life gets in the way.**

**P.s Crista and Leah's wolf dreams are ones I've had the past few months (weird huh?) :D **

**Pp.s Crista's memories at the beginning of this chapter will be brought up (hopefully) throughout this story. **

**I would also like to thank my friend, 'A', who is my unofficial Beta and a fellow Gai Sensei fan! (Gai Sensei FTW!) She has a critical eye and reads like a hundred words per second. She read this chapter for me because Metallica are her Gods. Thanks A! ^_^ YOUTH to you! :D 3 **


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